Alem is a
village
A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
in the
Dutch province of
Gelderland
Gelderland ( , ), also known as Guelders ( ) in English, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Nethe ...
. It is a part of the municipality of
Maasdriel, and lies about 10 km north of
's-Hertogenbosch
s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 160,783. It is the capital of ...
.
It used to part of the province in
North Brabant
North Brabant ( ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, Dutch Brabant or Hollandic Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to ...
. In 1934, it became part of Gelderland. Until 1958, Alem, Maren en Kessel was a separate municipality. The villages of
Maren and
Maren-Kessel are now part of the municipality of
Lith.
History
It was first mentioned in 1107 as Aleym. The etymology is unclear.
The village developed along the
Maas. The
Dutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal famil ...
has probably been built around 1719 using material from a previous church lost in a 1717 flood.
In 1840, it was home to 307 people.
In 1925, the canalisation of the Maas resulted in Alem becoming a river island.
In 1934, it became part of the province of Gelderland.
Gallery
Netherlands, Maasdriel, Alem (3).jpg, Scene in Alem
Netherlands, Maasdriel, Alem (2).JPG, Saint Odradastreet with village inn "Het Hart van Alem"
Netherlands, Maasdriel, Alem (7).jpg, Ferry across the river Meuse
References
Former municipalities of North Brabant
Populated places in Gelderland
Maasdriel
{{Gelderland-geo-stub