Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel (population: 22,344 in 2004) is a
townA town is a type of settlement ranging from a few hundred to several thousand inhabitants, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas; the precise meaning varies between countries and is not always a matter of legal definition...
and municipality in the western
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
, in the province of
South HollandSouth 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.-History:...
. The municipality covers an area of 18.47 km² (of which 1.20 km² is covered by water).
The municipality of Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel also includes the communities Groot Hitland, Klein Hitland, and Kortenoord.
It is situated along the
Hollandse IJsselThe Hollandse IJssel is a branch of the Rhine delta that flows westward from Nieuwegein on river Lek through IJsselstein, Gouda and Capelle aan den IJssel to Krimpen aan den IJssel, where it ends in the Nieuwe Maas. Another branch called Enge IJssel flows southwest from Nieuwegein...
river, across from the town
OuderkerkOuderkerk is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 28.53 km²...
.
Within the boundaries of this municipality lies the lowest point of the Netherlands: 6.76 m (22.2 ft) below
Amsterdam Ordnance DatumNormaal Amsterdams Peil or Amsterdam Ordnance Datum is a vertical datum in use in large parts of Western Europe. Originally created for use in The Netherlands, it was adopted by Prussia in 1879 under the name Normalnull, and in 1955 by other European countries.Originally the zero level of NAP was...
(mean summer sea level in Amsterdam).
Nieuwerkerk was probably first formed circa 1250.
Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel (population: 22,344 in 2004) is a
townA town is a type of settlement ranging from a few hundred to several thousand inhabitants, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas; the precise meaning varies between countries and is not always a matter of legal definition...
and municipality in the western
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
, in the province of
South HollandSouth 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.-History:...
. The municipality covers an area of 18.47 km² (of which 1.20 km² is covered by water).
The municipality of Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel also includes the communities Groot Hitland, Klein Hitland, and Kortenoord.
It is situated along the
Hollandse IJsselThe Hollandse IJssel is a branch of the Rhine delta that flows westward from Nieuwegein on river Lek through IJsselstein, Gouda and Capelle aan den IJssel to Krimpen aan den IJssel, where it ends in the Nieuwe Maas. Another branch called Enge IJssel flows southwest from Nieuwegein...
river, across from the town
OuderkerkOuderkerk is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 28.53 km²...
.
Within the boundaries of this municipality lies the lowest point of the Netherlands: 6.76 m (22.2 ft) below
Amsterdam Ordnance DatumNormaal Amsterdams Peil or Amsterdam Ordnance Datum is a vertical datum in use in large parts of Western Europe. Originally created for use in The Netherlands, it was adopted by Prussia in 1879 under the name Normalnull, and in 1955 by other European countries.Originally the zero level of NAP was...
(mean summer sea level in Amsterdam).
History
Nieuwerkerk was probably first formed circa 1250. The first reference to "
Nuwekerke" is from 1282 when
Count Floris VCount Floris V of Holland and Zeeland , "der Keerlen God" , is one of the most important figures of the first, native dynasty of Holland . His life has been documented in detail in the Rijmkroniek by Melis Stoke, his chronicler...
loaned the land between
KralingenKralingen-Crooswijk is a township of the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It is located at the immediate east of the city's centre. As in 2005 it has about 52,379 inhabitants and has a territory of about 1,286 ha...
and
GoudaGouda is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Gouda, which was granted city rights in 1272, is famous for its Gouda cheese, smoking pipes and its 15th century city hall....
to a certain Traveys of Moordrecht. Another reference is from 22 January 1317 when
Count William III of HollandWilliam I, Count of Hainaut was Count William III of Avesnes, Count William III of Holland and Count William II of Zeeland from 1304 to his death. He was the son of John II, Count of Hainaut and Philippa of Luxembourg...
sold the fiefdoms Capelle and Nieuwerkerk to Lord Jan van der Werve for 325 Dutch Pounds.
The original old village formed on a mount between shallow lakes. These lakes were the result of peat harvesting. In 1839 the first one was drained and made into a
polderA polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments known as dikes, that forms an artificial hydrological entity, meaning it has no connection with outside water other than through manually-operated devices...
, the current Zuidplaspolder, and in 1866, the Alexanderpolder was made.
The railway between Rotterdam and Gouda was built in 1855 and resulted in the growth of the village. Other periods of rapid development followed after the Second World War and in the early 1980s.
During the
North Sea Flood of 1953The North Sea flood of 1953 and the associated storm combined to create a major natural disaster which affected the coastlines of the Netherlands and England on the night of 31 January – 1 February 1953...
, a dike along that river broke, and the mayor of Nieuwerkerk successfully plugged the hole by ordering a river ship to navigate into it.
Transportation
Railway station:
Nieuwerkerk aan den IJsselNieuwerkerk aan den IJssel is a railway station in Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel, the Netherlands.-History:The station is located on the railway line between Gouda and Rotterdam Centraal...
External links