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Architecture

Are you intrigued by the sherbet-colored buildings that cast dancing reflections in the waterway that divides Willemstad? Armed with the Historic Willemstad Architectural Walking Guide pamphlet, you can loop through Punda, cross the Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge and explore the streets of Otrobanda.

The narrow St. Anna Bay divides the original settlement, Punda (the point) from Otrobanda (the other side). Three bridges connect the city districts, each named after a Dutch Queen, and the streets bear Dutch names. Loyalty to the Dutch crown continues today, and as in times past, helps to unify the disparate cultures that call Curaçao home.

The architecture of the row of storefronts lining the waterfront of Punda embodies the European 18th-century Baroque style, but with a palate of Caribbean colors: mango orange, guava pink, papaya yellow and avocado green. According to legend, the multicolored façades were originally painted white. In 1817, the Governor-General, Albert Kikkert, complained that the glare from the buildings gave him headaches and decreed that all the buildings be painted colorful hues.

To see how history, architecture and art combine in the present, visit Kurá Hulanda in Otrobanda. In the 18th century, a "Kurá" was a mansion surrounded by service buildings and a wall. Kurá Hulanda has been reconstructed and now has shaded cobblestone streets, gardens, statues and murals. The 25 historic buildings serve as a hotel, restaurants, galleries, boutiques and the slave museum.