Menterwolde
 flag |
 coat of arms |
| province |
 Groningen
|
| local community |
 Midden-Groningen
|
|
Area - land - water |
81.62 km 2 80.24 km 2 1.38 km 2 |
| Residents | 12,011 (Dec. 31, 2017) |
| Coordinates | 53 ° 10 ′ N , 6 ° 52 ′ E |
| Important traffic route |
  
|
| prefix | 0598 |
| Postcodes | 9631-9639, 9649, 9651 |
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|
Menterwolde ( ) is a former municipality in the province of Groningen in the Netherlands . Shortly before the municipality was dissolved, it had 12,011 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2017) on an area of 81.62 km².
The municipality only came into being in 1990 after an administrative reform in the province. The municipalities of Muntendam and Meeden were dissolved and merged with Oosterbroek. A year later the name was changed to Menterwolde.
places
The approximate number of inhabitants in brackets (as of January 1, 2017).
- Muntendam (4905, including Borgercompagnie and Tripscompagnie); Seat of the municipal administration
- Meeden (1680)
- Noordbroek (1870)
- Zuidbroek (3715)
Location and economy
The community is located on the boundary between the fertile agricultural area Oldambt with his fat clay soils (Noordbroek, Meeden) and southern bog that of Fehnkolonien is embossed (Borger- and Tripscompagnie, Zuidbroek). The village of Meeden is halfway between the city of Groningen and Neuschanz on the German border. Neighboring communities are Hoogezand-Sappemeer in the west, Slochteren in the north , Veendam in the south and Winschoten in the east . The A7 motorway Groningen - Winschoten - Leer (East Friesland) and the railway between the same cities cross the municipality. There is a small train station in Zuidbroek.
Zuidbroek, a former industrial town, and Muntendam have some trade (including materials and services for construction and ship repair) and trade. There are also two hotels, mainly for those passing through. The main source of income, however, is agriculture . Many residents commute to work in the surrounding cities.
history
Muntendam was founded in the 13th century as a settlement on a dam in the Munte . That was a small river that no longer exists and flowed into the Wadden Sea at Termunterzijl . The old trade route from Groningen to Westphalia ran through the villages of Zuidbroek and Muntendam in the late Middle Ages . Around 1600 the center of Muntendam was on a small hill, as it were on an island in the swampy moor , often flooded by the Dollard . In 1637 a canal called Muntendammer Diep was dug. This gave the village a boost: nearby wealthy people, including those from the Dutch regent family Trip, had started to have peat extracted from the moor . Many workers of this moor colonization settled in Muntendam and the new moor colonies Tripscompagnie and Zuidbroek. The relative prosperity lasted until around 1820. The workers' incomes then continued to decline, they were longer and more often unemployed, poverty and hardship steadily worsened. Often they only knew how to make ends meet as peddlers or through begging and petty crime. The togetherness in the village of Muntendam was great. Most people, once universal suffrage was in place, voted for radical socialism or communism . To this day, the political left predominates in Menterwolde's municipal council. From 1920 on there was better work, for example in Zuidbroeker and Veendamer factories, with reasonable wages, and poverty became less severe.
politics
Distribution of seats in the municipal council
| Political party | Seats | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | |
| Menterwolde Gewoon | - | - | - | 4th |
| SP | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| VVD | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| General concern | - | - | - | |
| Critically Menterwolde | - | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| PvdA | 8th | 6th | 5 | 2 |
| CDA | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| GroenLinks | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| ChristenUnie | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| total | 15th | 15th | 15th | 15th |
Attractions
- In Zuidbroek there is the North Netherlands Tram and Railway Museum (NNTTM). It is located in the Zuidbroek station building.
- In Noordbroek there is a medieval church in Romano-Gothic style with an Arp Schnitger organ built in 1696 .
- Zuidbroek also has an old church, like the one in Noordbroek, partly in Romanesque , partly in Gothic style.
Sons and daughters of the church
- Uko Walles , Dutch Baptist and founder of the Ukowallists (born near Noordbroek)
- Johan Remkes , Dutch Interior Minister 2003-2006 (born in Zuidbroek)
Web links
- NNTTM website (Dutch)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek , accessed on June 28, 2018 (Dutch)
- ↑ Allocation of seats in the municipal council: 2002 2006 2010 2014 , accessed on June 28, 2018 (Dutch)