Sandy Lane Beach © Barbados Tourism
Bridgetown, originally called 'Indian Bridge', is the capital
and commercial centre of Barbados, with about 80,000 inhabitants.
It is a busy port with a natural harbour inlet, known as the
Careenage, and is well utilised by pleasure craft and fishing
boats. The main street, Broad Street, is where one finds banks,
department stores and duty-free shops. At the top of Broad Street
is the Parliament Building (the Barbados Parliament is the third
oldest in the Commonwealth, dating from 1639), facing National
Heroes Square. Opposite the Gothic parliamentary building is a
grand statue of Lord Nelson, which, having been erected in 1813, is
older than the one in Trafalgar Square in London. Barbados'
colonial military history is well represented at the Barbados
Garrison, the 18th-century base of the British Windward and Leeward
Islands Command. This elegant Georgian building, dating from 1802,
is the headquarters of the Garrison Committee who are unearthing
the numerous old cannons scattered around the island; about 400
have so far been found in gardens, cellars, beaches or buried
beneath fortifications. The most important pieces from this
collection are mounted in front of the Main Guard House and make a
fine photographic display for visitors. The Garrison complex also
features the Barbados Museum, which is housed in the old military
detention barracks - the display galleries were once prison cells.
The museum houses exhibits chronicling the natural history and arts
and crafts of Barbados. Another attraction in Bridgetown is a
massive Baobab tree (said to have been brought to the island from
Guinea, Africa around 1738). It takes 15 adults with outstretched
arms to encircle the trunk.
