Jodensavanne
Jodensavanne is an abandoned Jewish colony and cemetery with the ruins of the oldest synagogue in Latin America, located in northeastern Suriname. The settlement played a major role in the European colonization of the New World, so it is of great interest to professional historians and tourists. Since 1998, Jodensawanna has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Highlights
The Jewish colony was founded in 1652 on the banks of the Surinam River, 55 km from Paramarimbo town, and was led by the first colonists, Lord W. Willoughby. The inhabitants of the “Jewish Savannah” were Dutch Jews forced to flee from the European Inquisition. A few years later, several Jewish families from the Dutch colonies in Brazil, which by then had fallen under Portuguese rule, came here.
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In 1666, several Jews who had been expelled from French Cayenne moved to Jodensawanna. And after them, one hundred and fifty men from Livorno, led by the wealthy landowner and merchant David Cohen Nasi, came here. This man played a major role in the development of the Jewish community in Suriname and throughout the Caribbean, and Nasi’s descendants led Jodensavanna for many more decades..
The first rabbi, Isaac Neto, began serving in the local synagogue in 1674. The country’s authorities supported the settlers in every way possible. Jews in South America were granted freedom of religion, the right to enter public service, and the right to own land and real estate.
The first rabbi, Isaac Neto, began serving in the local synagogue in 1674.
By the end of the seventeenth century, there were 600 colonists in the growing settlement. They owned four dozen plantations, employing more than nine thousand slaves. Sugar cane, grains, coffee and chocolate trees, cotton and indigo were grown here.
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In the nineteenth century, sugar cane prices fell and most of the local Jews moved to Paramarimbo. In 1832 there was a fire in Jodensawanna, after which the colony was finally abandoned. Curiously, during World War II, a camp for Nazi suspects was organized in the former settlement.
.What can be seen in Jodensavann today
The brick ruins of the Berasha ve Shalom synagogue, erected in 1665, remain in the abandoned colony. Next to it spreads the territory of the Jewish cemetery with several hundred tombstones. The oldest burial was made in 1667. Some of the tombstones are made of marble, and the rest are made of brick. There are healing mineral springs nearby.
.How to get there
Jodensavanna is located in the Para district. It is 55 km away from Paramaribo city and can be reached by tour bus or cab.
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