Berg en Dal is a village in the

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

of Klaaskreek in the Brokopondo District of

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

. The village is located on the Suriname River.

History

In 1713, a military outpost was founded near Mount Parnassus which is nowadays called the Blauwe Berg. The outpost was meant to protect the colony against attacks of the Maroons (runaways slaves). In 1722, a sugar plantation was founded by Hendrik Temminck, the governor of Suriname at the time. In 1737, a wood

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

was founded, and named Berg en Dal. In 1762, a peace agreement was signed with the

Saramaka The Saramaka, Saamaka or Saramacca are one of six Maroon (people), Maroon peoples (formerly called "Bush Negroes") in the Republic of Suriname and one of the Maroon peoples in French Guiana. In 2007, the Saramaka won a ruling by the Inter-Ameri ...

, and the military post was disbanded. In 1830, the

Moravian Church The Moravian Church, or the Moravian Brethren ( or ), formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohemian Reformation of the 15th century and the original ...

embarked on missionary activities among the slaves, and founded the first church in 1839. After the abolition of slavery, the plantation suffered a period of decline, and in 1870, was sold by auction to the Moravian Church. In 1968, the

Avobakaweg There are several named highways in the country of Suriname. Avobakaweg The Avobakaweg is a paved 2-lane road connecting Paranam with Afobaka, the location of the Afobaka Dam. The road connects northwards to Paramaribo and the East-West Link. ...

Paramaribo Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's p ...

was constructed, which triggered a migration to the city. The Surinamese Interior War finally resulted in a near abandonment of the village; only one person remained in the village. In 1999, the Wederopbouw Berg en Dal foundation was established to revitalise the village. In 2003, the church collapsed. The Moravian Church started a joint venture with hotel Krasnapolsky in Paramaribo, and in 2008 the former plantation was transformed into the ''Berg en Dal Eco & Cultural Resort,'' a luxury holiday

with 150 rooms for

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

Notable people

* Johannes Helstone (1853–1927), composer, pianist and writer.

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Brokopondo District