Lekkerkerk Loetbos vanaf Restaurant de Loet

Lekkerkerk is a town and former municipality on the

Lek River The Lek () is a river in the western Netherlands of some in length. It is the continuation of the Nederrijn after the Kromme Rijn branches off at the town of Wijk bij Duurstede. The main westbound waterway is hereafter called the Lek River. The ...

, now part of the municipality of

Krimpenerwaard Krimpenerwaard () is a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality, a List of regions of the Netherlands, region and a former Water board (Netherlands), water board of the Netherlands. It is a rural area located in the east of the p ...

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 ...

province, the

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 ...

. Since 1 January 1985 Lekkerkerk is no longer an independent municipality. Lekkerkerk is mostly an agricultural community with its housing, including attractive 17th, 18th, and 19th century farms, stretched out on the dike along the Lek River. Near the

Reformed Church Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

(Johanneskerk), the development is denser and forms the town centre.

History

The oldest evidence of habitation in the

is no older than the 10th century. It is assumed that systematic cultivation only began in the 11th and early 12th century, with the river levees functioning as the base. Initially the name of the village and its surroundings was "''Leckelant''". The name "''Leckerkercke''" was used for the first time in 1276 when a village centre formed around the new church and across the Lek River '' Nieuw Leckelant'' began to develop. In 1342 Lekkerkerk was a county with the subordinate fiefdoms of Krimpen (

Krimpen aan de Lek Krimpen aan de Lek is a town on the Lek River in the municipality of Krimpenerwaard, province of South Holland, the Netherlands. It had 6,607 inhabitants in 2008. The name ''Krimpen'' comes from the archaic word "''Krempener''", meaning "river ...

and Krimpen aan den IJssel), Stormpolder,

Ouderkerk aan den IJssel Ouderkerk aan den IJssel (; en, Ouderkerk upon IJssel) is a village in the municipality of Krimpenerwaard, in the province of South Holland, the Netherlands. It is situated along the river Hollandse IJssel and has over 4000 inhabitants. Ouder ...

and Zuidbroek. The first real significant growth of the village started in 1900 when several alleys were built perpendicular to the river dike. After 1950 the growth accelerated. Especially after the inauguration of the Algera Bridge at Krimpen aan den IJssel, the Krimpenerwaard became a popular location for commuters to

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

Chemische stoffen in Lekkerkerk worden opgegraven

In 1980 and 1981 Lekkerkerk gained national notoriety when it was found that the soil underneath the new neighbourhood west of the Kerkweg (Church Road) was very polluted. The cost for removal and clean-up was 188 million Dutch guilders (85 million euros). On 1 January 1985, the municipalities of Lekkerkerk and

merged to form the new municipality of

Nederlek Nederlek () is a former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Since 2015 it has been a part of the municipality of Krimpenerwaard. The former municipality covered an area of of which was covered by water. It ...

Economy

For centuries the economy of Lekkerkerk has been

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

shipping Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting Commodity, commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it h ...

, and

ship building Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

. Like so many other peat areas in Holland and Utrecht, agriculture in the Krimpenerwaard was characterized by crop cultivation in the higher lands and the lower areas used for cattle grazing. The primary crop was grain, but

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whi ...

and

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nb ...

were also cultivated with some

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...

s and even

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

s present as well. As a result of the important fishing industries along the river, wood and ship building industries developed, as well as

rope A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly ...

making. Ropemakers used to use

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants o ...

for ropes. So hemp has been cultivated on a large scale in the Krimpenerwaard since around 1600. Circa 1930, the Opperduit area still consisted almost exclusively of hemp growers but today the whole Krimpenerwaard is used for cattle grazing.

References

External links

*
Website van gemeente Nederlek
{{Authority control Populated places in South Holland Former municipalities of South Holland Krimpenerwaard