Beerta () 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 to ...

and former municipality with a population of 2,205 in the municipality of Oldambt in the province of

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. In the 20th century, Beerta was a communist stronghold. In 1933, the municipal council was dismissed by the government, and was ruled by a until 1935. Between 1982 and 1990, Beerta was the only municipality with a communist mayor.

Etymology

Beerta means "place with houses" (English: neigh''boor''hood; Frisian: '' buorren'') The name was sometimes explained as relating to the 12th century which was lost in a flood, however the monastery has been excavated in

Hesel Hesel is a municipality in Leer district. It is situated approximately northeast of Leer, and east of Emden. Hesel is also the seat of the ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Hesel Hesel is a municipality in Leer district. It is sit ...

East Frisia East Frisia or East Friesland (german: Ostfriesland; ; stq, Aastfräislound) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia ...

, Germany in 1988.

History

The

Dollart The Dollart (German name) or Dollard (Dutch name) is a bay in the Wadden Sea between the northern Netherlands and Germany, on the west side of the estuary of the Ems river. Most of it dries at low tide. Many water birds feed there. Gaining ...

is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

in the

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( nl, Waddenzee ; german: Wattenmeer; nds, Wattensee or ; da, Vadehavet; fy, Waadsee, longname=yes; frr, di Heef) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern conti ...

which was gradually expanding in size. Around 1600, it peaked at around . Beerta was located on higher ground, and became a peninsula in the bay. The village dates from the 11th century. The expanding Dollart implied that parts of Beerta were moved to higher ground. The Saint Bartholomew Church dates from between 1506 and 1508, and was partially constructed using material of a 1462 church. The

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plains s ...

ing of the Dollart resulted in a large areas of cultivated land, and in the mid-19th century, Beerta became a prosperous village with an elite of rich farmers. In 1840, it was home to 3,189 people. The disparity in wealth resulted in the emergence of communists. In 1919, the first communists were elected to the municipal council. Beerta was a separate municipality until 1990, when it merged with

Finsterwolde Finsterwolde () is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen, about 7 km northeast of the city of Winschoten. Finsterwolde was a separate municipality until 1990, when it was merged with Beerta into Reiderland. In 2010 Reiderland merged i ...

and

Nieuweschans Bad Nieuweschans (also ''Lange Akkeren''; ; Gronings: ''Nij-Schans''; German: ''Bad Neuschanz'') is a village in the north-eastern Netherlands on the border with Germany. It forms part of the municipality of Oldambt. Nieuweschans means "new fort ...

to form a new municipality that was initially also called Beerta, but was renamed

Reiderland Reiderland () is a former municipality in the province Groningen in the northeastern Netherlands, which was founded in 1990 during a large municipal reorganisation. The former municipalities Finsterwolde and Bad Nieuweschans were abolished and add ...

one year later. In 2010, Reiderland merged into the new municipality of Oldambt.

Communism

In 1919, the first communists were elected to the municipal council. Beerta became a

Communist Party of the Netherlands The Communist Party of the Netherlands ( nl, Communistische Partij Nederland, , CPN) was a Dutch communist party. The party was founded in 1909 as the Social-Democratic Party (SDP) and merged with the Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party ...

(CPN) stronghold, and in 1933, it became the largest party. In December 1933, the

States General of the Netherlands The States General of the Netherlands ( nl, Staten-Generaal ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate () and the House of Representatives (). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The States ...

dissolved the municipal council claiming an ungovernable situation, and appointed a to rule the municipality. The CPN won again in the 1935 election, however the Social Democratic Workers' Party defected and formed a majority coalition with the other parties. Beerta would continue to be ruled by a coalition which excluded the CPN until 1966 when the communist party won the elections with an absolute majority. In 1982,

Hanneke Jagersma Johanna "Hanneke" Jagersma (; born 1 November 1951) is a Dutch former politician. She was member of the Communist Party of the Netherlands from 1974 to 1989 and mayor of Beerta from 1982 to 1990. She now works for Humanitas, a Dutch care organis ...

of the CPN became the mayor of Beerta. She was the first and only communist mayor in the Netherlands. In 1989, the CPN abandoned its

Marxist–Leninist Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialect ...

roots and merged into

GroenLinks GroenLinks (, ) is a green political party in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 March 1989 from the merger of four left-wing parties: the Communist Party of the Netherlands, the Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and t ...

, however Jagersma did not join the new party. In 1990, Beerta was merged into

and Jagersma was no longer mayor.

Geography

Beerta is situated in the municipality of Oldambt and the (historical) region of Oldambt in the east of the province of

in the northeast of the

. To the southwest of Beerta is

Winschoten Winschoten (; gos, Winschoot) is a city with a population of 18,518 in the municipality of Oldambt in the northeast of the Netherlands. It is the largest city in the region of Oldambt in the province of Groningen which has 38,213 inhabitants. ...

, to the west is

Blauwestad Blauwestad () is a village in the municipality of Oldambt in the Netherlands. It is situated on the east bank of the Oldambtmeer in the east of the province of Groningen. History After the Oldambtmeer was created in 2005, the village of Blauw ...

, to the north is

, to the east is

Bad Nieuweschans Bad Nieuweschans (also ''Lange Akkeren''; ; Gronings: ''Nij-Schans''; German: ''Bad Neuschanz'') is a village in the north-eastern Netherlands on the border with Germany. It forms part of the municipality of Oldambt (municipality), Oldambt. Nieuw ...

, to the southeast is

Bellingwolde Bellingwolde (; Gronings: ''Bennewolle'') is a village with a population of 2,655 people in the municipality Westerwolde in the Netherlands. It is situated in the southeast of the region Oldambt, in the north of the region Westerwolde, and in ...

, and to the south is

Blijham Blijham () is a village with a population of 2,240 in the municipality of Westerwolde in the province of Groningen in the Netherlands. The origins of the settlement date back to the 11th century. Until 1968, Blijham was part of the municipality ...

. North of Beerta is the

, which is part of the

, to the west is the

Oldambtmeer Oldambtmeer (; en, Oldambt Lake) is an artificial lake of more than 800 hectares (ha) in the municipality of Oldambt in the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sover ...

, and to the southeast are the rivers Westerwoldse Aa and

Pekel Aa Pekel A (also Pekel Aa; ) is a river in the Groningen (province), Province of Groningen in the Netherlands. The villages of Oude Pekela and Nieuwe Pekela have been named after the river. The name translates to Brine ('':nl:Pekel, Pekel'') River ( ...

. The former municipality of Beerta included the settlements Drieborg,

Nieuw-Beerta Nieuw-Beerta () is a village with a population of 120 in the municipality of Oldambt in the east of the province of Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , ...

, Nieuwe Statenzijl, Oudezijl, Oude Statenzijl,

Ulsda Ulsda (; Gronings: ''Olsde'') is a hamlet in the municipality of Oldambt in the northeast of the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_na ...

, and

Winschoterzijl Winschoterzijl is a former hamlet in the municipality of Oldambt (municipality), Oldambt in the northeast of the Netherlands. It was also a Sconce (fortification), sconce, and is still a Lock (water navigation), lock. The village was settled by Lu ...

Notable people

Hans Hateboer Hans Hateboer (born 9 January 1994) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a right-back for club Atalanta and the Netherlands national team. A Groningen youth product, Hateboer spent three-and-a-half Eredivisie seasons with the club ...

(born 1994), footballer *

Jurrie Koolhof Jurjen Jacob (Jurrie) Koolhof (10 January 1960 – 28 January 2019) was a Dutch international football striker and manager. As a player, Koolhof had a long and productive career, with 190 league goals. He played for a number of clubs in the Net ...

(1960–2019), football striker and manager *

Harry Powers Harry F. Powers (born Harm Drenth; November 17, 1893 – March 18, 1932) was a Dutch-born American serial killer who was hanged in Moundsville, West Virginia. Powers lured his victims through " lonely hearts" advertisements, claiming he wa ...

(1893–1932), American serial killer * Marcus Slingenberg (1881–1941), politician and former minister of Social Affairs

Gallery

File:Beestenboel, Beerta (2019) 01.jpg, Residential house with a pet shop File:Exterieur OVERZICHT VOORGEVEL - Beerta - 20260839 - RCE.jpg, Farm File:Beersterplas - panoramio.jpg, Beersterplas File:Garage in ambachtelijk-traditionele stijl 1927 - 1.jpg, Carriage house

References

External links

* {{Authority control Former municipalities of Groningen (province) Oldambt (municipality) Populated places in Groningen (province)