Dronten () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in the central

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 province of

Flevoland Flevoland () is the twelfth and youngest province of the Netherlands, established in 1986, when the southern and eastern Flevopolders, together with the Noordoostpolder, were merged into one provincial entity. It is in the centre of the countr ...

. It had a population of in .

History

Plans for the municipality of Dronten were made in the early half of the 1950s; real plans for the town of Dronten (the municipality's center) were revealed in 1958. The foundations for the town were laid in 1960. Right from the start there was a discussion whether Dronten was to become a town or a city. The first plans assumed 15,000 inhabitants, while later plans foresaw a growth to 30,000 inhabitants. The first plans for the municipality assumed ten smaller villages situated around the central town (in this case, Dronten). The number of villages was reduced because of increased motorized traffic and experiences gained in developing the Noordoostpolder, where a similar municipality had already been built. Eventually, it was decided that there were to be two smaller villages ( Biddinghuizen and

Swifterbant Swifterbant () is a town in the Dutch province of Flevoland. It is a part of the municipality of Dronten, and lies about 13 km northeast of Lelystad. On 1 January 2014, Swifterbant had 6475 inhabitants.18th World Scout Jamboree. 28,960 Scouts and staff members from 166 countries and territories participated this event.

Population centers

* Biddinghuizen *Dronten *

Swifterbant Swifterbant () is a town in the Dutch province of Flevoland. It is a part of the municipality of Dronten, and lies about 13 km northeast of Lelystad. On 1 January 2014, Swifterbant had 6475 inhabitants. ''Dutch Topographic map of Dronten (town), March 2014.''

Transportation

Dronten has a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

on the Lelystad-Zwolle railway. The majority of

velomobile A velomobile (); velomobiel, velo, or bicycle car is a human-powered vehicle (HPV) enclosed for aerodynamic advantage and/or protection from weather and collisions. Velomobiles are similar to recumbent bicycles, pedal go-karts and tricycles, bu ...

manufacturers in the world are based in Dronten. They include Alligt, velomobiel.nl and InterCityBike.

Entertainment

Biddinghuizen contains the theme park

Walibi Holland Walibi Holland (previously called Flevohof, Walibi Flevo, Six Flags Holland and Walibi World) is a theme park in Biddinghuizen, Netherlands. History The park was opened in 1971 as 'Flevohof'. It was an educational theme park themed after agricu ...

Sister city relations

* Ōgata, Akita, Japan (friendship city)

Notable people

Patrick Paauwe Patrick Paauwe (born 27 December 1975) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a defender. Club career Paauwe played as a defender in the past but for Feyenoord Rotterdam as a defensive midfielder role. Other teams he served ...

(born 1975), Dutch former professional footballer with 451 caps *

Cees Paauwe Cees Paauwe (; born 3 November 1977) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Career Born in Dronten, Netherlands, Paauwe played for Lyra, SV 't Harde and FC Zwolle as a youth. From 1995 to 2000 he played for FC T ...

(born 1977), Dutch former football goalkeeper with over 100 caps *

Bertolf Lentink Bertolf Lentink (Dronten, July 2, 1980) is a Dutch singer/songwriter. In 2010, he was awarded the Zilveren Harp. Biography Lentink plays guitar and piano. After playing in a band called The Junes, he landed a job playing with the popular Dutch ...

(born 1980), Dutch singer/songwriter who plays guitar and piano * Ricardo Talu (born 1993), Dutch-Angolan professional footballer *

Hakim Ziyech Hakim Ziyech ( ar, حكيم زياش; ber, ⵃⴰⴽⵉⵎ ⵣⵉⵢⴰⵛ; born 19 March 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Premier League club Chelsea. Born in the Netherlands, he represent ...

(born 1993),

Dutch-Moroccan Moroccans in the Netherlands (, , also known as Dutch-Moroccans or Moroccan-Dutch) are immigrants from Morocco to the Netherlands and their descendants. Migration history Moroccans were not much represented in the first major postwar wave of mi ...

professional footballer, currently playing for

Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football ...

Beitske Visser Beitske Visser (born 10 March 1995) is a Dutch racing driver. She has raced in kart, single-seater, GT and prototype series. Career Karting Born in Dronten, Visser began karting in 2007 and raced in various European and International cham ...

(born 1995), Dutch female racing driver

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Municipalities of Flevoland Populated places in Flevoland