Kockengen 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

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

. It is a part of the municipality of Stichtse Vecht, and lies about 11 km northeast of

Woerden Woerden () is a city and a municipality in central Netherlands. Due to its central location between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht, and the fact that it has rail and road connections to those cities, it is a popular town for commu ...

. The name of the village is a reference to

Cockaigne Cockaigne or Cockayne () is a land of plenty in medieval myth, an imaginary place of extreme luxury and ease where physical comforts and pleasures are always immediately at hand and where the harshness of medieval peasant life does not exist. ...

, a medieval fictional land of plenty. Until 1989, Kockengen was a separate municipality. From then until 2011 it was part of the municipality of

Breukelen Breukelen () is a town and former municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It is situated to the north west of Utrecht, along the river Vecht and close to the lakes of the Loosdrechtse Plassen, an area of natural and tourist ...

History

The village was first mentioned around 1307 as Cokanghen. It started as a 12th-century as a cultivation concession, and the name was probably chosen to attract farmers. Many of the early settlers were serfs from France. In the 14th century a church was built. The tower dates from 1635. During the 17th century, it was prosperous village, due to good water connections to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

and

. In 1840, Kockengen was home to 677 people. The is a polder mill, a pumping station to drain the excess water from the polder, which was constructed in 1653. In 1675, it was redesigned. The wind mill remained in service until 1962 when it was replaced by an electric pumping station, however it still serves as an emergency backup.

Gallery

Image:KockengenseMolen.jpg, Windmill in Kockengen (built 1653) File:Kockengen Portengen Portengen 23 Boerderij 15032022.jpg, Farm in Kockengen File:Kockengen - Nieuwstraat 12 Voormalig Gereformeerde Kerk.jpg, Former church File:Kockengen - Nieuwstraat 14 - Pastorie.jpg, Former clergy house

Notable people

* Cor van Oel (1899–1979), painter *

Gerard Vianen Gerard Vianen (9 February 1944 – 10 December 2014) was a Dutch professional road bicycle racer. A ''domestique'' for Joop Zoetemelk and Raymond Poulidor, he won one stage in the Tour de France and 3 stages in the Vuelta a España. Vianen ...

(1944), cyclist * Janneke Vos (1977), cyclist * Annemieke Kiesel-Griffioen (1979), football player

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Utrecht (province) Former municipalities of Utrecht (province) Stichtse Vecht