Maria (sometimes Marie) Lobach Hartmann (11 December 1798 – 30 December 1853) was a German-born Moravian missionary in

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 north ...

. Maria Lobach ( Sorbian: ''Marija Lobakojc'') was born to a Sorbian family in Turnow,

Lower Lusatia Lower Lusatia (; ; ; szl, Dolnŏ Łużyca; ; ) is a historical region in Central Europe, stretching from the southeast of the German state of Brandenburg to the southwest of Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Like adjacent Upper Lusatia in the sou ...

. She married the missionary Johann Gottlieb Hartmann, and travelled with him to Suriname in 1826; the couple lived and worked in

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 ...

and Charlottenburg, Wanhatti. They had five children, including Maria Heyde; another of their children followed in his parents' footsteps, continuing to work in Suriname. One of their sons went to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

to work with the slaves there. Johann died in 1844, but Maria continued her service, working with the black population of Berg en Dal and Bambey, and traveling into the bush country to teach the freed blacks. 1851 was the darkest year, everybody, except for Hartmann, died of

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

, and Hartmann left Bambey, and moved to the forest. Among her activities was teaching younger missionaries. She suffered from

elephantiasis Elephantiasis is the enlargement and hardening of limbs or body parts due to tissue swelling. It is characterised by edema, hypertrophy, and fibrosis of skin and subcutaneous tissues, due to obstruction of lymphatic vessels. It may affect the genit ...

, but continued to work until dying; upon her death a number of articles were written praising her example. Her accomplishments included the founding of Koffiekamp,

Sarakreek Sarakreek is a resorts of Suriname, resort (≈ municipality) in the gold mining region of Brokopondo District in Suriname. Its population at the 2012 census was 3,076. It is served by the Sarakreek Airstrip. The resort is named after the eponymo ...

in 1851. The church was built in 1853, however she had fallen ill. Somebody of her parish arrived to witness the

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

of the church, and discovered Maria in her hammock. On 22 December 1853, she was transported to Paramaribo, where she died on 30 December. In 1965, Koffiekamp was flooded after the construction of the

Afobaka Dam The Afobaka Dam is an embankment dam with a main gravity dam section on the Suriname River near Afobaka in Brokopondo District of Suriname. The primary purpose of the dam is to generate hydroelectric power and it supports a 180 MW power stati ...

. The villagers were resettled in

Nieuw-Koffiekamp Nieuw-Koffiekamp is a village in the resort of Brownsweg in the Brokopondo District of Suriname. It is a transmigration village built for the inhabitants of Koffiekamp which was flooded by the Brokopondo Reservoir after the construction of the Afo ...

Marshallkreek Marshallkreek (also Marchallkreek) is a resort in Suriname, located in the Brokopondo District. Its population at the 2012 census was 1,171. The resort and town are named after Captain Marshall who first settled Suriname in 1630. The resort contai ...

and Tapoeripa.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartmann, Maria 1798 births 1853 deaths Moravian Church missionaries German Protestant missionaries Female Christian missionaries Protestant missionaries in Suriname Sorbian people