Christiansted is arguably the most beautiful town in the Caribbean, but it’s more than just a pretty face. One admirer — the National Park Service no less — boasts that “no place in the Caribbean still demonstrates the architectural, economic, and political influence of Europe like the Christiansted National Historic Site.” The site is seven acres close to the Christiansted waterfront, and includes buildings constructed in the 17th and 18th centuries for St. Croix’s colonial society and its plantation economy. St. Croix’s history is dramatic, often heart-wrenching, and certainly worth investigation.

Fort Christiansvaern was the first public building to be built by the Danes after they purchased St. Croix from France in 1733. The fort was built to pay homage to the Danish king and also to meet the urgent need to protect St. Croix against invasion from European powers, smugglers and pirates! The yellow-ochre color of the fort and other historic buildings is the color used to paint the Nyboder naval barracks in Copenhagen, planned and built by King Christian IV in the 18th century.

Just across from the fort, an exhibit in the Steeple Building documents the religious history of St. Croix. The graceful steeple is a reminder of the Lutheran congregation that once held services there.

Next to the fort, the sweeping staircase of the Old Customs House provides excellent photo opportunities. The building is now home to the National Park Service offices and a wealth of information is available there.

The Old Scale House on the wharf displays the heavy-duty scale once used to weigh barrels of rum and sugar before shipment to Europe.

Governor General Peter von Scholten maintained his office and official residence in splendid fashion in majestic Government House on King Street.

Next to the Fort along the boardwalk is the King Christian hotel, which has been welcoming visitors to St. Croix for more than 200 years.

Finally, Danish architecture students are assisting the Virgin Islands government with the first phase of a project to restore the abandoned government building at the corner of Hospital St. and East End Rd. with the goal of housing the new UVI-affiliated School of Architecture in that building. Funding for the school will be split between sources in Denmark and in the Virgin Islands.

Every March, Virgin Islanders celebrate a peaceful transfer of ownership – an “independence” day unique to these islands. On March 31, 1917, an elaborate ceremony carried out simultaneously on each of the three Virgin Islands — St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John — marked a change in ownership of the Virgin Islands from Denmark to the United States.

The United States investigated the Virgin Islands as a possible fueling station or U.S. merchant and naval vessels as early as the mid-1860’s. A treaty between the two countries was first negotiated in 1867, however a complicated process of give-and-take termed “diplomatic fencing” ensued whereby Denmark signed the agreement and the U.S. waffled for several years before agreeing to sign, at which time Denmark opted to ignore the United States’ overture. By 1915, the U.S. acknowledged an urgent need to prevent another power from establishing a base in the Caribbean and agreed to pay Denmark $25 million in gold coin for the islands — up from the original asking price of $7.5 million! The transfer treaty was finalized on January 17, 1917 and the official transfer took place at 4:00 pm on March 31 of that year.

According to contemporary accounts, Virgin Islanders were pleased to become U.S. citizens and did not dispute the new ownership. In St. Thomas, the U.S. was represented at the transfer ceremony by a guard of honor from the U.S. ship Valkyrien anchored in Charlotte Amalie Harbor and a Danish guard of honor stood outside the barracks belonging to the Danish fort. In St. Croix, the transfer proclamation was read aloud by dignitaries in Christiansted and in Frederiksted. Needless to say, national anthems were played and artillery salutes were fired – 89 in total!

What an exciting yet solemn day it must have been for Virgin Islanders! Since that day, the islands have become thoroughly American, yet the islands’ rich Danish heritage is apparent everywhere — in family names, place names, street names and architecture. For fascinating photographic records of long-ago life in the Virgin Islands, go to stcroixfoodandwine.com, stcroixlandmarks.com and search “photos.”