Hoogeveen

For other uses, see Hoogeveen (disambiguation).
Hoogeveen
Municipality

Former court house in Hoogeveen

Flag
Coat of arms
Highlighted position of Hoogeveen in a municipal map of Drenthe
Location in Drenthe
Coordinates: 52°44′N 6°29′E / 52.733°N 6.483°E / 52.733; 6.483Coordinates: 52°44′N 6°29′E / 52.733°N 6.483°E / 52.733; 6.483
Country Netherlands
Province Drenthe
Government[1]
 • Body Municipal council
 • Mayor Karel Loohuis (PvdA)
Area[2]
 • Total 129.25 km2 (49.90 sq mi)
 • Land 127.67 km2 (49.29 sq mi)
 • Water 1.58 km2 (0.61 sq mi)
Elevation[3] 12 m (39 ft)
Population (May 2014)[4]
 • Total 54,733
 • Density 429/km2 (1,110/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Hoogevener
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postcode Parts of 7900 range
Area code 0524, 0528
Website www.hoogeveen.nl

Hoogeveen [ˌɦoːɣəˈveːn] (Dutch Low Saxon: 't Ogeveine or 't Oveine) is a municipality and a town in the northeastern Netherlands.

Population centres

Dutch Topographic map of Hoogeveen (town), March 2014

Elim, Fluitenberg, Hoogeveen and Noordscheschut, which still have the canals which used to be throughout the town. Other villages of the town are Hollandscheveld, Nieuw Moscou, Nieuweroord, Nieuwlande, Pesse, Stuifzand and Tiendeveen.

Hoogeveen

Town hall

It dates its history to 20 December 1625, when Roelof van Echten bought a large tract of peat land from farmers of the district with the plan to harvest its peat. One old map of the area called it Locus Deserta Atque ob Multos Paludes Invia, a deserted and impenetrable place of many swamps. Hoogeveen itself was established in 1636 by Peter Joostens Warmont and Johan van der Meer.

Its coat of arms, granted 10 November 1819, is white, with a pile of peat covered in straw in the center and beehives on each side, representing the town's first two major industries.

Huts in Zwartschaap, on the way between Hoogeveen and Pesse, painted by Van Gogh in 1883

Vincent van Gogh visited the area in the fall of 1883.[5]

In the second half of the 1960s, Hoogeveen was the fastest growing town in the Netherlands. Its rapid growth during that period led its city council to fill most of the town's canals, canals dug in the area's early days when it was a prime source of peat.

Access to the town is provided by the A28 (Utrecht - Groningen) highway, the N/A37 (Hoogeveen - Germany), and the Western Cities - Groningen railway.

The then recognized oldest person in the world, Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper, lived in Hoogeveen until her death in August 2005.

Hoogeveen also has a small airport that attracts some tourism. Since 1997 the Hoogeveen Chess Tournament is organized.

Transport

Railway Station: Hoogeveen

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Hoogeveen is twinned with:

Notable people

References

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "De leden van het college" [Members of the board of mayor and aldermen] (in Dutch). Gemeente Hoogeveen. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  2. ↑ "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten" [Key figures for neighbourhoods]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  3. ↑ "Postcodetool for 7901BW". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  4. ↑ "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  5. ↑ Dead link to The New Yorker

Bibliography

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hoogeveen.
 Westerveld Midden-Drenthe
De Wolden Coevorden
   Hoogeveen  
Hardenberg (OV)
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