Berg en Dal is a village in the

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort ...

Klaaskreek Klaaskreek is a resort in Suriname, located in the Brokopondo District. Its population at the 2012 census was 2,124. Located northeast of Brokopondo, the main town is Reinsdorp. In 2007, a technical training centre in biological agriculture was es ...

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 ...

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the nor ...

. The village is located on the

Suriname River The Suriname River ( Dutch: ''Surinamerivier'') is 480 km long and flows through the country Suriname. Its sources are located in the Guiana Highlands on the border between the Wilhelmina Mountains and the Eilerts de Haan Mountains (where it ...

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 Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into separate creole cultures such as the Garifuna and the Mascogos. ...

(runaways slaves). In 1722, a sugar plantation was founded by

Hendrik Temminck Hendrik Temminck, sometimes also Temming ( 1680 – 17 September 1727) was from 1 March 1722 to 17 September 1727, governor of the Dutch plantation colony of Surinam. Temminck was born in Arnhem around 1680. He studied law. After his promotion ...

, the governor of Suriname at the time. In 1737, a wood

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...

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 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-American Court for H ...

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

Moravian Church The Moravian Church ( cs, Moravská církev), or the Moravian Brethren, formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination, denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohem ...

embarked on missionary activities among the slaves, and founded the first church in 1839. After the

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

, the plantation suffered a period of decline, and in 1870, was sold by auction to the Moravian Church. In 1968, the

Afobakaweg The Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname) has a number of forms of transport. Transportation emissions are an increasing part of Suriname's contributions to climate change, as part of the Nationally Determined Contributions for the Pari ...

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the 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 po ...

was constructed, which triggered a migration to the city. The

Surinamese Interior War The Surinamese Interior War ( nl, Binnenlandse Oorlog) was a civil war waged in the Sipaliwini District of Suriname between 1986 and 1992. It was fought by the Tucayana Amazonas led by Thomas Sabajo and the Jungle Commando led by Ronnie Brunswi ...

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 tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fund ...

Notable people

Johannes Helstone Johannes Helstone, born ''Nicodemus Johannes Helstone'' (11 January 1853 – 24 April 1927), was a Surinamese composer, pianist and writer. He is best known for his 1906 opera ''Het Pand der Goden''. Biography Helstone was born on the Moravian ...

(1853–1927), composer, pianist and writer.

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Brokopondo District