Heritage
[edit]
Saint-Sauveur Cathedral[edit]
Main article: Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur de Cayenne
Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur de Cayenne after its renovation in 2005.
In 1823 Father Nicolas Guiller and Baron Pierre Bernard Milius [fr], administrator of French Guiana, decided to replace the old church of Saint Nicolas on the current Place Léopold-Héder [fr]. Work began in 1825 and ended in 1833. The church was inaugurated in 1861 and is registered as a French monument historique.
The high altar, the pulpit, and the confessional of the penitentiary chapel on the Îlet la Mère were transferred to the cathedral in 1876.
In 1933, the church was declared a cathedral. It was consecrated in November 1934 by monseigneur Pierre Gourtay [fr], the first bishop of Guyana. In 1952, construction workers discovered a lead case containing 21 coins, the oldest of which dated to the Napoleonic period, and 20 seals from the reign of Charles X.
Between 1952 and 1954, the ceiling, the windows, and the floors of the tribunal were replaced. The bell tower was renovated in 2000–01.
Fort Cépérou[edit]
Fort Cépérou, originally known as Fort Saint-Michel, is a 17th-century fortification on Mount Cépérou, named for the Amerindian chief who in 1643 sold the rock on which it stands to the Frenchman Charles Poncet de Brétigny, governor of Cayenne in 1644–1645.
View of Cayenne from Fort Cépérou with belfry in foreground, May 2015.
View of the renovated pagoda
Fort Cépérou
Historic houses[edit]
Maison Thémire, historic and iconic building of the capital. Today it is a bar-restaurant-hotel.
In recent years the city has renovated a number of historic Creole houses in the city center.
Restored creole house on the place du Coq.
Restored Creole house.
Creole house restored as restaurant.
Restored créole home.
Creole building
Creole home, restored.
Restored creole home not far from Cépérou.
Creole house restored as a business
Creole house renovated into jewelry store.
Direction régionale des Affaires culturelles (HQ of Regional Administration for Cultural Affairs)
Downtown seen from the roof-tops.
Club Saint-Hubert in Cayenne.
Place des Palmistes[edit]
Palmists Plaza
Initially it was a plaza to aerate the city after the demolition of the city walls in 1810. It was named Place de la Savane ("Savanna Square") after the grasses that grew there. Later some royal palms from the area of Guisanbourg were planted there, and the plaza was renamed Place des Palmistes ("Royal Palms' Square"). In 1880, a bronze column was erected bearing the bust of the Marianne, commemorating the seizure of the Bastille. Governor Gaston Gerville-Reache transformed the plaza into an English garden, with artificial hills, masses of flowers and ornamental plants. Because it regularly flooded in the rain, Governor Marc Chanel in 1925 bordered it with a network of cemented canals, still there to this day. A statue of Félix Éboué, an illustrious Guianan, stands at the Merlet fountain. Today it is a lively place where the residents meet. In the evening, food carts sell French fries, sandwiches, local juices and other street food, and bami and lassi (Javanese delicacies brought in by way of Suriname).
Botanical garden[edit]
Main article: Jardin botanique de Cayenne
Botanical garden of Cayenne, with a statue of Gaston Monnerville statue at its center.
In 1786, Louis XVI had a garden that served as a storehouse and nursery for various plants and trees from various locations. Louis Claude Richard, director of the garden, brought from India nutmeg trees, rattan, cardamom and black pepper vines. At this period, it was called King's Garden. In 1821 a house was built for the botanist. In 1879, the park changed its name and became the Botanical Garden, a floral park in the city center. It covers an area of three hectares. A statue of Gaston Monnerville stands in the garden's center.
Market and Place du Coq[edit]
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Right aisle of the Cayenne market.
La place du Coq.
These two adjoining buildings are located near the old port of Cayenne. As early as 1703, a Place du Port appears on a map of the city of Cayenne. It then became Place du Marché in 1842. In 1888, a covered market and a public garden were built there. In 1907 the municipal council led by mayor Eugène Gobert decided to remove the garden and build a new covered market, the one we know today. In 1920 the war memorial of the First World War was inaugurated on the site of the old market, surmounted by a rooster, which gave the place its current name.
Cayenne Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cayenne.
Village Chinois[edit]
The village chionois (Chinese Village) in Cayenne is located on the edge of the city's center along the Cayenne River. Colloquially known as la Crique or Chikago, the neighborhood is reportedly a top destination for internal migration from elsewhere in French Guiana.
