Brownsweg is a town and resort in

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 ...

in the

Brokopondo District Brokopondo is a district of Suriname. Its capital city is Brokopondo; other towns include Brownsweg and Kwakoegron. The district has a population of 15,909, and an area of 7,364 square kilometres. History The Brokopondo district was established ...

. Its population at the 2012 census was 4,793.

History

The town was named after the road that leads to the Brownsberg, and the

Brownsberg Nature Park Brownsberg Nature Park is a nature park located in Suriname. The site measures 12,000 ha and is located in the district of Brokopondo around 130 km south from the capital city Paramaribo. The 500-meter high Brownsberg is the central point of t ...

. It is situated near the

Brokopondo Reservoir The Brokopondo Reservoir, officially named Professor Doctor Ingenieur W. J. van Blommestein Meer, and also called the Brokopondostuwmeer, is a large reservoir in Suriname. It is named after the Surakarta-born Dutch hydrological engineer . With a ...

. In 1958 Brownsweg was built for the inhabitants of the area that was flooded after the construction of the Afobaka Dam. One of the main concerns was the transmigration of the 5,000 people living in the area. Bronsweg was a stop at the former

Lawa Railway The Lawa Railway (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Lawaspoorweg'' or later ''Landsspoorweg'') was a single-track metre gauge railway in Suriname. It was built during the gold rush in the early 20th century, from the harbour town Paramaribo to Dam at the ...

, and in 1959 the Prinses Marijke camp was built near the hamlet. The resort consists of the villages Wakibasoe 1, 2, 3, Bierhoedoematoe, Kadjoe, Nieuw Ganze, Djankakondre, Makambi, and Nieuw-Koffiekamp. Brownsweg is often used to refer to most villages, because they have grown together, except for Bierhoedoematoe and Nieuw-Koffiekamp which are still detached. The largest ethnic group of Brownsweg are the

Maroons Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas and islands of the Indian Ocean who escaped from slavery, through flight or manumission, and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with Indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into ...

. Most of the inhabitants still live tribally in villages near the rivers and roads. The primary medical care is performed by Medische Zending. The resort can be reached via 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. ...

. On 15 May 2020, the Afobakaweg will connect to the Dési Delano Bouterse Highway, the only motorway in Suriname between Paramaribo and Zanderij. Brownsberg can be reached from the town of Brownsweg. Stoneiland, a tourist resort and beach, is located at the foot of the mountain.

Sports

ACoconut is an association football club in Brownsweg. Bigi Wey Sports Center is a sports venue in Brownsweg.

Notable people

* Diana Pokie (~1979), politician.

History

Sports

Notable people

References

Further reading