Melissant is a village in the
Dutch province 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 ...
. It is located on the island
Goeree-Overflakkee, in the municipality of Goeree-Overflakkee.
History
The village was first mentioned in 1484 as melissant, and means "sand (
shoal
In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It ...
) of Melis (person)". Melissant developed after the Oud-Melissant polder was enclosed by a dike in 1480.
The
Restored Reformed Church is an aisleless church built between 1862 and 1863 in
neoclassic style.
It was originally a
Dutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...
, but in 2004, during the merger into the Protestant church, the church was given to the Restored Reformed Church for 50 years in
emphyteusis.
The Catholic St Joseph Chapel was built in 1900 in
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
style.
It was a
bequest of Diert van Melissant to built a church, however the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Rotterdam
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rotterdam is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in South Holland province of the Netherlands. The diocese is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Utrecht. Since 2011, the b ...
decided to built a chapel instead, due to the modest number of Catholics in the area.
Melissant was home to 664 people in 1840.
It was a separate municipality from 1817 until 1966, when it became part of
Dirksland.
Subsequently, Dirksland became part of the new municipality of Goeree-Overflakkee in 2013.
Gallery
File:Goeree melissant kerk.jpg, Restored Reformed Church
File:Exterieur OVERZICHT VOORGEVEL, LINKER ZIJGEVEL - Melissant - 20263942 - RCE.jpg, Farm in Melissant
See also
*
Onwaard
*
Roxenisse
References
Former municipalities of South Holland
Populated places in South Holland
Goeree-Overflakkee
{{SouthHolland-geo-stub