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 The Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral is a wooden Roman Catholic cathedral located in the center of the capital city of Paramaribo, Surinam. It is the largest wooden building in South America, and the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paramaribo. Construction of the cathedral began in 1883, on the site of a former theatre. The church interior is constructed from unpainted Surinamese cedar. Although it was consecrated in 1885, the towers were not completed until 1901. After a botched restoration in 1977, the building began to fall into disrepair, encountering problems with tilting and termites. The building was extensively restored and brought back to usable condition in 2002. With help of EU-funding, actual restoration of the cathedral began in 2007 and after 3 years the church was re-opened on the 13th of November 2010. Dutch-Surinamese priest Peter Donders is buried in Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral.
Before it became a cathedral it was a theatre and was owned by La Parra. The theatre was built in 1809 and burned down in 1820. The construction of the St. Peter and Paul Cathedral started on 13 January 1883. In 2009 the gate to the cathedral turned 200 years old. The cathedral has 18 confession rooms in total. The cathedral has 18 confession rooms in total. The building has 3 bells in the left tower. The name of the smallest bell is Afonsus and it weighs 290 kg. The biggest bell is named John and it weighs 827 kg. The middle one is named Rosa and it weighs 493 kg. The pipe organ was constructed in Germany and initially contained 1,550 pipes. Many of the pipes have been stolen over the years, leaving the organ with a value of 400 Euros. After renovation it is expected to have a value of around 10 million Euros.
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