Just south of Kralendijk, along the coast, you will see a small fort called Fort Orange near the neighboring buildings. Right after it was built in 1639 it was an impressive structure, but it never came into action. Fort Orange has four English cannons that date between 1808 and 1812.

Maybe because of this formidable armament, Fort Orange never had to use them. Fort Orange has been used as a government center, police and fire station and depots. On the picture above a canon protects the cruiseship Veendam of the Holland America Line against pirates.

Until 1837, it was the residence of the commander of Bonaire. A wooden lighthouse was built in 1868, but they replaced this one in 1932 by a stone lighthouse you can still see today. For many years, the police and the fire brigade used Fort Orange. The police has its own building now, and the fire brigade relocated somewhere else. The Public Prosecution Service is located in one of the buildings, but relocates to Landsradio building in 2011.