Heukelum is a city in the Dutch province of

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

. It is a part of the municipality of West Betuwe, and lies about 8 km northeast of Gorinchem. It received

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

in 1391.

History

It was first mentioned in 996 as Ukele, and means "settlement on the height". Heukelum is an elongated '' esdorp'' which developed on the river bank of the Linge in the Early Middle Ages. The Dutch Reformed church developed in stages between 1350 and 1510 to replace its predecessor from around 1250. The tower and nave were destroyed by fire in 1699. Part of the defensive works around the city from the 16th and 17th century are still present. Heukelum Castle (also Merckenburg Castle) was originally built before 1286 by the van Arkel family as one of nine castles to defend the

Land van Arkel The Land van Arkel was a fief of the Counts of Holland, and was managed by the Lords of Arkel until 1412. The territory was bordered by the river Merwede on the south, and the river Linge on the east. The northern border might have reached as far a ...

against Holland and Gelderland. It is the only castle which remained after the (1401-1412). In 1672, it was severely damaged by the French. The castle changed ownership several times, but is still private property. Heukelum was flooded many times during its history. The last times were in 1939 and 1945 when the area around Heelsum was inundated to thwart the advance of the German and Allied armies respectively. Heukelum was home to 535 people in 1840. Heukelum was a separate municipality until 1986, when it became part of

Vuren Vuren is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of West Betuwe, and is located about 5 km east of Gorinchem. Vuren was a separate municipality until 1986, when it merged with Asperen, Herwijnen, and H ...

. The area was part 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 ...

until then, and is now part of

Gallery

File:Oude smitse Heukelum.jpg, Former forge File:Heukelum, kerk foto1 2007-03-15 16.49.JPG, Dutch Reformed church File:Heukelum 03.jpg, Heukelum Castle File:Heukelum.jpg, Street view

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Gelderland Former municipalities of South Holland Cities in the Netherlands West Betuwe