Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights
Emmaus Moravian Church
CHURCH
(cnrRtes10&107;notouristentryhours,butopenforSundayservices)
Built in 1783
as the second of two missions at Coral Bay, this large yellow church with its red roof is on
the National Registry of Historic Places. It sits on land once known as Caroline Estate, the
plantation where the 1733 slave revolt broke out, resulting in the murder of the judge who
owned the plantation and his 12-year-old daughter.
The Moravians arrived on the island in the 1750s. Once Coral Bay managed to prosper
again after the slave revolt, the Moravian missionaries bent to the single-minded purpose
of ministering to the slaves and teaching them to read. This building was a cornerstone of
that dedication and continues to serve descendants of those slaves today. The church is not
normally open to visitors, but you can come to Sunday morning services. Contemporary
parishioners call their congregation Bethany Moravian Church.
Fort Berg
HISTORICAL BUILDING
The ruins of this fort lie in the brush atop Fort Berg Hill on a peninsula that juts into Coral
Bay. Danes built the fort in 1717 after Governor Erick Bridel seized the island from the
British and fortified it with nine-pound cannons mounted on the ramparts. Slaves reduced
the fort to rubble during the revolt of 1733. The English built another battery here during
their occupation in 1807-15, and a few iron cannons remain. The fort is on private land;
you can ask at Skinny Legs restaurant in Coral Bay about directions to the ruins and wheth-
er it is currently OK to intrude on private property.
Beaches
In addition to the beaches listed below, several others in the vicinity offer good snorkeling
and privacy. If you love to swim with the fishes, consider getting your flippers on at Hansen
Bay, Long Bay or Privateer Bay, as well.
