Grootegast (; fy, Gruttegast) is a village and former

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 ...

in the northeastern

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 ...

. It is the sister city of

Kingston, Tasmania Kingston is a town on the outskirts of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Nestled 12 km south of the city between and around several hills, Kingston is the seat of the Kingborough Council, and today serves as the gateway between Hobart and the D ...

. The municipality was merged into the municipality of

Westerkwartier The Westerkwartier (; en, Western Quarter) is a historical region in the Dutch province of Groningen, at the border with the provinces of Drenthe and Friesland. In the past the area was part of the historical region of Frisia. The West Frisi ...

on 1 January 2019.

Geography

The former municipality contained the population centres:

Doezum Doezum is a village in the municipality of Westerkwartier in the Dutch province of Groningen. It had a population of around 725 in January 2017. History The village was first mentioned in 1475 as "Uteradosum alias Dosum". The etymology is uncl ...

, Enumatil, Faan, Grootegast,

Kornhorn Kornhorn is a village in Westerkwartier municipality in the Dutch province of Groningen. It had a population of around 495 in 2021. Overview Kornhorn is situated along a dike in a raised bog Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are a ...

, Lutjegast, Niekerk,

Oldekerk Oldekerk is a village 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 * P ...

Opende Opende is a village in the north-eastern Netherlands, in the province of Groningen. It is part of the municipality of Westerkwartier. It had a population of around 2,865 in January 2017. History The village was first mentioned in 1457 as vpey ...

, Sebaldeburen. In some of these villages they still speak the

West Frisian language West Frisian, or simply Frisian ( fy, link=no, Frysk or ; nl, Fries , also ), is a West Germanic language spoken mostly in the province of Friesland () in the north of the Netherlands, mostly by those of Frisian ancestry. It is the most wid ...

The village of Grootegast

Grootegast was the main village of the former municipality. The name of the village refers to a 'gast' or 'gaast', a higher, sandy ridge in an otherwise swampy area. ''Groot'' is

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 ...

for 'large'. Grootegast is the birthplace of the theologian

Cornelius Van Til Cornelius Van Til (May 3, 1895 – April 17, 1987) was a Dutch-American reformed philosopher and theologian, who is credited as being the originator of modern presuppositional apologetics. A graduate of Calvin College, Van Til later received ...

Lutjegast

Lutjegast is a village in the former municipality of Grootegast. In the Groningen

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...

Low German : : : : : (70,000) (30,000) (8,000) , familycolor = Indo-European , fam2 = Germanic , fam3 = West Germanic , fam4 = North Sea Germanic , ancestor = Old Saxon , ancestor2 = Middle L ...

'Lutje' means small or little. Lutjegast was the birthplace of the

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

Abel Tasman Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first known European explorer to reach New Z ...

. Although the house of his birth no longer exists, he is memorialised with a monument, plaque and street name. Until 1829 a

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

named Rikkerdaborg stood in Lutjegast.

References

External links

* Westerkwartier (municipality) Former municipalities of Groningen (province) Populated places in Groningen (province) Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2019 {{Groningen-geo-stub