Herkingen 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 * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

province of South Holland. It is located on the south coast of the island

Goeree-Overflakkee Goeree-Overflakkee () is the southernmost delta island of the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is separated from Voorne-Putten and Hoeksche Waard by the Haringvliet, from the mainland of North Brabant by the Volkerak, and from Schou ...

, in the municipality of Goeree-Overflakkee.

History

Herkingen was first mentioned in 1420 or 1421 as "Herkinghe", and means "settlement of Herke (person)". Herkingen is a dike village which developed after the Oud-Herkingen ''polder'' was created in 1483. In 1511, it was flooded and a new dike was constructed around the village in 1604. The Dutch Reformed church is a modest aisleless church parallel to the dike which was constructed in 1788. 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 ...

De Dankbaarheid was built in 1841. It was in service until 1960, and in 1966, it was used as a holiday home. It was restored in the 1990s, and operational in 2000. The windmill is frequently in service on a voluntary basis. Herkingen was home to 628 people in 1840. Herkingen was severely damaged during the North Sea flood of 1953. Herkingen was a separate municipality between 1817 and 1966, when it merged with

Dirksland Dirksland () is a village and former municipality on Goeree-Overflakkee Island in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The former municipality had a population of about 8,000 in 2007, and covered an area of about 74 km� ...

. In 2013, it became part of the municipality of Goeree-Overflakkee.

Overview

Herkingen lies on the south side of the island and borders the

Grevelingenmeer Grevelingen or Grevelingenmeer (Lake Grevelingen) is a closed off part of the Rhine-Meuse estuary on the border of the Netherlands, Dutch Provinces of the Netherlands, provinces of South Holland and Zeeland. It is situated between the islands of ...

, which is a saltwater lake that has been disconnected directly from the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

by the

Brouwersdam The Brouwersdam is the seventh structure of the Delta Works in the Netherlands. Brouwersdam forms a barrier across the former estuary known as the Brouwershavense Gat. As a result, the area of water became known as the Grevelingenmeer. Construct ...

, but still connects to the

Oosterschelde The Eastern Scheldt ( nl, Oosterschelde) is a former estuary in the province of Zeeland, Netherlands, between Schouwen-Duiveland and Tholen on the north and Noord-Beveland and Zuid-Beveland on the south. It also features the largest natio ...

which is saltwater. The Grevelingenmeer has quite a large size yachting marina and is a large water sports area with the main recreational areas on

Schouwen-Duiveland Schouwen-Duiveland () is a municipality and an island in the southwestern Netherlands province of Zeeland. The municipality has 33,737 inhabitants (1 January 2016) and covers an area of (of which is water). The northside of the island has two fi ...

. The town of Herkingen currently hosts several of the largest modern windmills in the country.

Gallery

File:Hervormde Kerk Herkingen - aanzicht.jpg, Dutch Reformed church File:Haven van Herkingen - Herkingen - 20535646 - RCE.jpg, Marina of Herkingen

References

{{Authority control Former municipalities of South Holland Populated places in South Holland Goeree-Overflakkee