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Batavia is located on the right bank of the Coppename river in Suriname, approximately 12.5 km south from where the Saramacca River flows into the Coppenameriver. Batavia was a military post of the Government in the 19th century. This area was designated in 1824 as being the segregation area for leprosy<\/a> contagious lepers. Part of the military post Batavia (ABCD on the map) was assigned by royal decree in 1836 at the Catholic Mission in Suriname. It was Peter (Peerke) Donders<\/a> who has worked here for 27 years and therefore has left a miraculously mark on the fortunes of the lepers. Batavia was closed in the late 19th century and the remaining lepers were transferred to Groot Chatillon, where the Roman Catholic Diocese<\/a> obtained\u00a0a new area. Especially after the beatification of Petrus Donders in 1982 Batavia became\u00a0a remarkable\u00a0place. But the struggle against nature was not sustainable\u00a0and thus Batavia became quickly overgrown. ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.sontoso.com\/batavia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/20170114_151711_800x600-300x225.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIn 2000, thanks to Mgr. W. de Bekker revived the project. In the meantime, the entire area is assigned to the Roman Catholic Diocese<\/a>\u00a0at Paramaribo. Since 2016 Batavia is managed by the Foundation Devotion Petrus Donders<\/a>. After a remake of the establishment Batavia reopened at\u00a0the 130th anniversary of Peerke with a permanent exhibition at the Pilgrim House. Now, in 2017 Batavia not only became a worthy pilgrimage, but also a tourist attraction, where you can find the blue-yellow macaws (Ara ararauna)<\/a>.<\/p>\n