Nieuw-Lekkerland is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, in the province of South Holland

South Holland

South Holland is a province situated on the North Sea in the western part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is The Hague and its largest city is Rotterdam.South Holland is one of the most densely populated and industrialised areas in the world...

. It is situated on the southern shores of the Lek River

Lek River

The Lek is a river in the western Netherlands of some 60 km in length. It is the continuation of the Nederrijn after the Kromme Rijn branches off at the town of Wijk bij Duurstede. The main westbound waterway is hereafter called the Lek River...

, in the north-western part of the Alblasserwaard

Alblasserwaard

The Alblasserwaard is a polder in the province South Holland in the Netherlands. It is mainly known for the windmills of Kinderdijk, a village in the northwest of the Alblasserwaard.-History:...

. The municipality covers an area of 12.77 km² (of which 2.37 km² is covered by water).

The municipality includes the population centres of Nieuw-Lekkerland (divided into the two neighbourhoods Dorpslaan and Middelweg) and Kinderdijk

Kinderdijk

Kinderdijk is a village in the Netherlands, belonging to the municipality of Nieuw-Lekkerland, in the province South Holland, about 15 km east of Rotterdam. Kinderdijk is situated in a polder at the confluence of the Lek and Noord rivers. To drain the polder, a system of 19 windmills was built...

.

The town's name evolved slightly over time: in 1280 Leckerlant, in 1331 Niewe Leckerland, and in 1903 Nieuw Lekkerland. It means "land of or near the river Lek" with the addition of "nieuw" ("new") to distinguish it from Old Lekkerland (now Lekkerkerk

Lekkerkerk

Lekkerkerk is a town and former municipality on the Lek River, now part of the municipality Nederlek, South Holland province, the Netherlands. Since 1 January 1985 Lekkerkerk is no longer is an independent municipality....

) across the river.

History

The name Nieue-Leckelant appears for the first time around 1325 and distinguishes it from Oudt-Leckelant (now Lekkerkerk). The most notable building used to be Castle Schoonenburg. Because of its elevated location on a mount, it served as a refuge for the people during floods before the reclamation of the Alblasserwaard. After 1456, the castle was abandoned and became a ruin. Its remains were thereafter probably used to rebuild a church tower. only the mount is still visible. The Reformed Church is from 1848.

Its economy was based on agriculture, cattle raising, and fishing. In the 19th century ship building and industry developed, resulting in an increasing population: from 770 in 1820, 1153 in 1840, 2000 in 1867, to 9400 in 2004.

Nieuw-Lekkerland is one of the few remaining municipalities in the Alblasserwaard that have never merged with any other municipality.

Demographics (2007)

Nieuw-Lekkerland had the second highest Natural Growth Rate of Population in Netherlands in 2007. But currently the birth rate is falling sharply and approaching below replaceable fertility.

• Birth Rate: 15.57 per 1000 (Down from 18.68 in 2000)
• Death Rate: 3.49 per 1000
• NGR: +1.21% per year. http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/publication/?DM=SLEN&PA=37259ENG&D1=1-2&D2=0,20,24,33,38,154,262,325,818,1143-1146&D3=a&D4=a,!0-39&LA=EN&VW=T

External links

• http://www.plattegronden.nl/gemeentenieuwlekkerland/