Aruba - Adventure Guide to Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao - page 73

Juliana, after ruling through two world wars. A statue of the popular
queen stands on a green lawn in the center of the landscaped park.
The Renaissance Hotel is beyond the park, on the water at Paarden
Baai/Bay, and the popular Seaport Marketplace is tucked between the
north side of the park and the boat-filled yacht harbor. Across the main
street, you'll see a sprawling marble World War II memorial set beside the
lagoon.

It helps to have a map, and you can pick up a free
Aruba Road Map at any tourist information center,
car rental office, or hotel reception desk. (A better
choice is the laminated island and city map published
by Berndtson & Berndtson. You may purchase one at
hotel gift shops, or order it from a bookstore before you
leave home.)

Walking toward town on Smith Blvd, you'll come to the Historical
Museum (Museo Arubano) located inside Fort Zoutman , the oldest
building on the island. It was built in 1796 and named after a rear admiral
in the Dutch navy who had an honorable fighting record against the
British.

Did You Know? The capital was named for the
royal Dutch house of Orange-Nassau in the 1800s.

The coastline ran alongside the fort until the harbor was filled in during
construction in 1930, so the fort's four cannon were well placed to protect
the island from 19th-century pirates and foreign navies. It's worth the $2
admission just to get inside the building. The haphazardly arranged dis-
plays include fossils, tools, furniture, and other items from the island's
earliest times to the present.

Did You Know? In 1867, the King Willem III
Tower was added to serve as a lighthouse powered
by a petrol lamp. The outside of the tower held the is-
land's first public clock, and you will see it at the top
of the tower, but don't set your watch by it. When the
structure's namesake died without a son in 1890,
the male line of the Dutch ruling house of Orange-
Nassau became extinct.

Today, you can visit the Historical Museum inside the restored fort's walls
weekdays, 10 am-noon and 1:30-4:30 pm. 297-582-6099.

If you want to take a break or do some shopping, continue past the yellow
Parliament Building and Government Offices to the Seaport Village