Philipsburg
View of Great Bay towards Philipsburg
Nickname:  Town
Philipsburg Location in Sint Maarten
Coordinates: 18°01′25″N 63°02′45″W / 18.0237°N 63.0458°W / 18.0237; -63.0458
State	Kingdom of the Netherlands
Country	Sint Maarten
Island	Saint Martin
Columbus landed	11 November 1493
Established	1763 (by John Philips)
Population  (2017)
• Total	1,894
Time zone	UTC−4 (AST)
Climate	Aw

Philipsburg (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈfilɪbzˌbʏr(ə)x]) is the main town and capital of Sint Maarten, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The town is on a narrow stretch of land between Great Bay and the Great Salt Pond. It functions as the commercial center of Saint Martin island, whereof Sint Maarten encompasses the southern half. As of 2017^[update], it has 1,894 inhabitants.^[1]

History

Philipsburg was founded in 1763 by John Philips, a Scottish captain in the Dutch navy; the settlement soon became a centre of international trade. Two historic forts bear witness to Philipsburg's strategic importance in St. Maarten's history: Fort Amsterdam and Fort Willem.^[2]

Tourism

The main shopping district, Front Street, is in the heart of the city. The city also has a port that is visited by many cruise liners.

Transport

Princess Juliana International Airport

World-famous for its close photographs of landing aircraft, Princess Juliana International Airport (IATA: SXM, ICAO: TNCM), west of Philipsburg, has become a tourist destination in its own right. Jet blast from departing aircraft is another 'attraction' as it creates artificial waves. However, jet blast is physically hazardous so viewers need to exercise caution; local authorities placed a warning on the airport's fence to alert people to the dangers of jet blast.

Port

Cruise ships to St Maarten Island dock at Port Philipsburg. The port is managed by the Harbour Group of Companies (port authority). The port has two cruise ship pier:

• Pier 1 has length 545 m (1788 ft) and capacity to dock 4 ships simultaneously. This berthing facility was inaugurated in 2009.
• A second cruise pier (Pier 2) was opened in 2017, ranking St Maarten as one of the few Caribbean ports with capacity to handle even the world's largest passenger vessels of the Royal Caribbean's Oasis-class (225,000 GT tons, capacity 6,300 passengers plus 2150 crew). The new Pier 2 has length 445 m (1460 ft) and capacity to dock 2 Oasis-class ships at a time. On Pier 2 there are also 2 screening booths to expedite passenger disembarkation.

Education

Schools include:^[3]

• Oranje School (public primary)
• Sr. Borgia Primary (subsidized primary)
• St. Joseph Primary (subsidized primary)
• Sundial School (subsidized secondary)

Philipsburg Jubilee Library is in Philipsburg.^[4]

Climate

Philipsburg has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw),^[5] and is drier than most parts of the northeastern Caribbean due to a rain shadow from the island's mountains, drying the northeast trade winds. The driest months are from January to July, and the wettest from September to November, when hurricanes are a frequent occurrence in the region.