Alphen (also known as Alphen aan de Maas) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

in the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

province of

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

. It is a part of the municipality of

West Maas en Waal West Maas en Waal () is a municipality in the Dutch province of Gelderland. The municipality covers the western part of the , an island located between the Meuse and Waal rivers. Population centres Topography ''Dutch Topographic map of the ...

, and lies about 7 km north of Oss. Alphen was a separate municipality until 1818, when it became a part of

Appeltern Appeltern is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of West Maas en Waal, and lies about 9 km northeast of Oss. Until 1984, Appeltern was an independent municipality. History It was first mentioned i ...

. The statistical area "Alphen" includes the hamlets of

Moordhuizen Moordhuizen is a hamlet in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of West Maas en Waal and is located about from Alphen. The hamlet is notable for its name, and is the location of the Quarles van Ufford pumping statio ...

, , and .

History

It was first mentioned in 1144 as Alfene. The etymology is unclear. It is often called Alphen aan de Maas to distinguish from Alphen aan den Rijn. The village developed along the Maas, and was originally a spread out settlement. The tower of the Catholic St. Lambertus Church dates from the middle of the 12th century. The church was constructed 1400. Between 1929 and 1932, the church was restored and enlarged. The Dutch Reformed Church is a modest building from 1818. In 1840, Alphen was home to 913 people. The windmill ''

Tot Voordeel en Genoegen Tot Voordeel en Genoegen (''Profit and Pleasure'') is a windmill built in 1798 on the Molendijk 15 in Alphen, Netherlands. It is a large post mill, built above a roundhouse, used for grinding wheat flour. It is the only windmill in the Netherl ...

'' lies just to the west of the village. The

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

was constructed in 1798 and restored in 1963. An

hydroelectric power station Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

capable of producing 14

Megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

s of electricity has been built next to the wind mill.

Notable people

Tineke Strik Martina Hermina Antonia (Tineke) Strik (born 28 September 1961 in Alphen, Gelderland) is a Dutch politician. From 2007 to 2019 she was a member of the Senate for GreenLeft. Since 2019 she is a member of the European Parliament for the Greens. B ...

(born 1961), politician

Gallery

File:Alphen (Gld) Rijksmonument 8197 H. Lambertuskerk.JPG, Lambertus Church File:Alphen (Gld) Rijksmonument 523079 Dijkmagazijn.JPG, Dike shed File:Alphen (Gld) Rijksmonument 8201 Hervormde kerk.JPG, Dutch Reformed Church File:Overzicht van de gevels van het voormalige Maasbommelse stoomgemaal, bij de Nieuwe Schans - Maasbommel - 20428048 - RCE.jpg, Former steam pumping station at Nieuwe Schans

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Gelderland Former municipalities of Gelderland West Maas en Waal