Blankenburg is a former village that was located on 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 ...

island of

Rozenburg Rozenburg () is a town and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 13,173 in 2004, and covers an area of 6.50 km² (of which 1.99 km² water). It was the s ...

in the province of

South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...

. It was located to the west of Rotterdam and to the southeast of the village of Rozenburg and was part of the Blankenburg island polder of the same name, which was created around 1600 by migrants from

Blankenberge Blankenberge (; french: Blankenberghe; vls, Blanknberge) is a city and a municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Blankenberge proper and the settlement of Uitkerke. On 1 December 2014, Bla ...

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

. Soon after, it formed a single island with Rozenburg and a few embankments in the Maas

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

. The village that originated in the seventeenth century was completely abandoned in the early 1960s due to the construction of

Europoort Europoort (, en, Eurogate, also "Europort") is an area of the Port of Rotterdam and the adjoining industrial area in the Netherlands. Being situated at Southside of the mouth of the rivers Rhine and Meuse with the hinterland consisting of the ...

. One of the first inhabitants of the island was Willem Pietersz. Moerman (ca.1575-1648), a farmer, birdwatcher and hunter who fled from Flanders during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...

. He is probably the one who gave the island the name Blankenburg, after the town of Blankenberge where he came from. Within a century, the settlement grew into a village with its own church and courthouse.Streekarchief: Blankenburg
/ref> Until the beginning of the 20th century the village of Blankenburg was the center of the island. Here stood the church, the school and the court house. There was also a ferry connection over the

Brielse Maas The Brielse Maas is a dammed river between the North Sea and the Oude Maas in the southern part of the Dutch province of South Holland. The town of Brielle, which gave it its name, is located on the south bank. The Brielse Maas was dammed before ...

with on the island

Voorne-Putten Voorne-Putten is an island between the North Sea, the Brielse Meer and the rivers Oude Maas, Spui and Haringvliet in the province of South Holland. Voorne-Putten consists of the two former islands Voorne (the larger, western part) and Putten ...

. After 1900 the center was increasingly located on the Maassluis side of the island, in the village that was named Rozenburg but was initially called 'De Buurt' (Dutch for the

neighbourhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural are ...

). Until 1965 Blankenburg was a village of approximately 400 inhabitants and 130 houses that were built along various

dikes Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes, ...

. In 1960 the municipality of Rotterdam expropriated the houses and farms for the construction of the Europoort industrial area. The Rotterdam band The Amazing Stroopwafels wrote a song about the village. The name 'Blankenburg' also lives on in the name of a still existing football club. The name of the Blankenburg Tunnel connection which is currently under construction refers to the former polder.

External links

Map (select ''plattegrond'')

References

{{coord, 51, 54, N, 4, 15, E, display=title, region:NL_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Former municipalities of South Holland Populated places in South Holland Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta