Neerijnen
 flag |
 coat of arms |
| province |
 Gelderland
|
| local community | West Betuwe |
|
Area - land - water |
72.9 km 2 65.98 km 2 6.92 km 2 |
| Residents | 12,422 (Sep 30, 2018) |
| Coordinates | 51 ° 50 ′ N , 5 ° 17 ′ E |
| Important traffic route |
    
|
| prefix | 0344, 0345, 0418 |
| Postcodes | 4061-4064, 4174-4176, 4181-4182, 4184-4185 |
| Website | Homepage of Neerijnen |
 |
|
Neerijnen ( ) was a municipality in the Dutch province of Gelderland . It had a total area of 72.9 km² and, according to the CBS, had 12,422 inhabitants on September 30, 2018 .
places
The municipality consisted of ten small villages (between brackets the possible number of inhabitants from 2017):
- Ophemeral (1,690)
- Varik (995)
- Heesselt (430)
- Est (575)
- Opijnen (1,170)
- Neerijnen (480; the town hall was located in the castle of this village)
- Waardenburg (2,335)
- Tuil (945)
- Haaften (2,665)
- Hellouw (1,010)
Location and economy
Neerijnen is located on the north bank of the Waal river , 20 km below Utrecht . The next train station is in Geldermalsen. The municipality is crossed by the A2 motorway (Utrecht - Maastricht ); There is an exit in Waardenburg. The northern border of the municipality is the A15 Rotterdam - Arnhem motorway ; These highways cross at the Deil motorway junction. Several villages are quite picturesque on the Waaldeich or around an old castle.
The main sources of income for this municipality, which is typical of the Betuwe landscape, are agriculture, horticulture in greenhouses and fruit growing (apples, pears, cherries). There is also some small business. Neerijnen has hardly discovered tourism so far.
history
The area with its fertile soil was already inhabited in the Middle Ages. Ophemert with his castle has existed since the 12th century; Varik since the 15th century; Heesselt was first attested in a file in 850, Tuil 963. A certain knight Rudolf de Cock was the most powerful lord in the area around 1265 when he acquired Waardenburg Castle from Count Otto II von Geldern . The mighty Goudenstein Castle stood in Haaften from 1325 to 1672, when it was destroyed by the French. The villages were often hit by catastrophic floods (including 1697, 1709, and 1711). Haaften suffered major fires twice (1649 and 1866).
Attractions
- In April, a bike tour through the community is worthwhile when the fruit trees are in full bloom.
- Between the castles of Neerijnen and Waardenburg there is a small forest where you can take a nice walk.
- A short car or motorcycle tour over the Waaldeich also offers beautiful distant views.
- Waardenburg Castle, which was quite dilapidated until 2009, has been restored. The middle part is set up as a museum. The side wings serve as office or living space.
- In Haaften there is a beautiful windmill and a picturesque castle ruin.
- In Ophemert there is also a castle that was already described in files in the 12th century ; however, it cannot be visited because it is used as a party center and luxury hotel.
- Ornithologists love to visit the two duck cages in the municipality and the polderland in the area (only accessible to scientists; at the Deil motorway junction)
- Cultural events are held in the "Stroomhuis" in Neerijnen. This is a former service building of the electricity company, built in 1950.
politics
fusion
On January 1, 2019, Neerijnen merged with Geldermalsen and Lingewaal to form the new municipality of West Betuwe .
Distribution of seats in the municipal council
The municipal council was formed as follows from 2002 until the municipality was dissolved:
| Political party | Seats | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | |
| SGP | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Voor Neerijnen | - | - | - | 3 |
| Gemeentebelangen Neerijnen | - | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| VVD | 4th | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| CDA | 4th | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| PvdA | 5 | 4th | 2 | 2 |
| Lijst Beukers | - | - | 1 | 0 |
| Article 50 | - | - | - | 0 |
| total | 15th | 15th | 15th | 15th |
Due to the merger on January 1, 2019, the elections for the council of the new West Betuwe municipality took place on November 21, 2018.
mayor
Harry de Vries ( CDA ) was acting mayor of the municipality from January 1, 2016 until the municipality was dissolved . His colleagues included the councilors Rian Verwoert ( VVD ), Teus Kool ( SGP ), Jaap Andriesse ( PvdA ) and the municipal secretary Jeanine Vonk-van Meteren.
Others
On 30 July 1943, a crashed Flying Fortress of the United States Army Air Forces from at Opijnen, with eight of the inmates died. The villagers buried them in the village cemetery and honor them to this day, because they fought for the liberation of the countries occupied by the Wehrmacht and fell in the process . All other US soldiers who fell in the Netherlands are buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery .
Web links
- Website of the municipality (Dutch)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand . In: StatLine . Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek , accessed January 1, 2019 (Dutch)
- ↑ Erik Wijnacker: Naam nieuwe gemeente bekend: West Betuwe. In: de Gelderlander . Wegener, April 26, 2017, accessed July 16, 2018 (Dutch).
- ↑ Result of the local elections: 2010 2014 , accessed on July 16, 2018 (Dutch)
- ↑ Allocation of seats in the municipal council: 2002 2006 2010 2014 , accessed on July 16, 2018 (Dutch)
- ↑ Herindelingen Kiesraad , accessed on July 16, 2018 (Dutch)
- ^ Nieuwe burgemeester Neerijnen: Harry de Vries. In: Het Kontakt Bommelerwaard. December 15, 2015, accessed July 16, 2018 (Dutch).
- ↑ Het college van B&W Gemeente Neerijnen, accessed on July 16, 2018 (Dutch)
- ↑ Richard B. Woodward: A Downed Plane, a Dutch Village and the Art of Remembering (The Washington Post Magazine November 9, 2018)