Tuesday, 25 September 2018 - 12:00 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: South America / Südamerika Category/Kategorie: GeneralReading Time: 4minutes
New Amsterdam (Dutch: Nieuw Amsterdam) is one of the largest towns in Guyana, located in the East Berbice-Corentyne Region, 62 mi (100 km) from the capital, Georgetown. It is located on the eastern bank of the Berbice River, 4 mi (6.4 km) upriver from its mouth at the Atlantic Ocean, and immediately south of the Canje River. New Amsterdam’s population is approximately 33,000.
New Amsterdam has its origins in a village which grew up alongside Fort Nassau in the 1730s and 1740s. The first Nieuw Amsterdam, as it was called then, was situated about 56 mi (90 km) up the Berbice River on the right bank. Before the 1763 slave uprising it comprised a Court of Policy building, a warehouse, an inn, two smithies, a bakery, a Lutheran church and a number of houses, among other buildings. Built in 1740 by the Dutch, New Amsterdam was first named Fort Sint Andries. It was made seat of the Dutch colonial government in 1790. In 1803 it was taken over by the British.
New Amsterdam serves as a port and has a government-run hospital. The town has many old colonial buildings, some dating back to the time of Dutch colonisation. Mission Chapel has been designated a National Heritage Site. New Amsterdam had some of the best bathrooms at that time in America. The main schools in New Amsterdam are Berbice High School, Berbice Educational Institute, Vryman’s Erven Secondary, Tutorial Academy, and New Amsterdam Secondary formerly known as New Amsterdam Multilateral High School (opened in 1975). The Esplanade is the name of an open public ground west of Esplanade Road and immediately opposite The Gardens. It evokes many pleasant memories of the time when it was immensely popular as a picnic resort and rendezvous for the people of Berbice. The bandstand there saw many splendid and well attended performances of the British Guiana Militia Band.
There are several hotels in the town – Church View Guest House, Astor Hotel, Little Rock Hotel, The Penguin International Hotel, and the Parkway Hotel. The newly built Little Rock Suites on Main Street. In December 2008, travel to New Amsterdam was made much easier by the opening of the Berbice Bridge.
