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Molenwaard () is a former municipality in the western

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 ...

, in the southeastern part of the province of South Holland, and the northwestern part of the region of

Alblasserwaard The Alblasserwaard () is a polder in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is mainly known for the windmills of Kinderdijk, located near the village of Kinderdijk in the polder's northwestern part. History The first human inhabita ...

. It was the result of a merger of the municipalities of Graafstroom, Liesveld, and Nieuw-Lekkerland on 1 January 2013. On 1 January 2019 it merged with

Giessenlanden Giessenlanden () is a former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covered an area of of which is water, and had a population of as of . The municipality included communities of Arkel, Giess ...

, together they form the new municipality of

Molenlanden Molenlanden () is a municipality in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. The municipality was created on 1 January 2019 by merging the municipalities of Giessenlanden en Molenwaard. It is located east of Rotterdam along the Lek. The ...

. Molenwaard had about 29,000 inhabitants and an area of about . The largest settlements are

Bleskensgraaf Bleskensgraaf is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Molenlanden, and lies about 10 km northeast of Dordrecht. It has an area of 1272 hectares. On 1 January 2009 Bleskensgraaf and Hofwegen had 279 ...

Groot-Ammers Groot-Ammers is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Molenlanden, and is located about 13 km southeast of Gouda on the southside of the Lek River. In 2001, the town of Groot-Ammers had 2822 in ...

, and Nieuw-Lekkerland. Molenwaard can be characterized as a landscape of polders existing of vast pastures traversed by ditches and canals, like the Groote- of Achterwaterschap, and the Ammersche Boezem. In the outermost northwest one can find the famous windmills of Kinderdijk. About 1.5 m below sea level, the municipality is bordered by the Lek river in the north and briefly the

Noord Noord () is a town and region in Aruba (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands). This town is known for its low rise and high rise hotels, restaurants, beaches, malls, the California Lighthouse, and other places of attraction. Places of interes ...

river in the west. On its area flows the Graafstroom or the Alblas. Religiously, the municipality is part of the

Bible Belt The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States in which socially conservative Protestant Christianity plays a strong role in society and politics, and church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's a ...

, resulting in the dominance of the Christian parties in politics.

Localities

Molenwaard consists of the following settlements:

Topography

''Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Molenwaard, June 2015''

Politics

The municipal council of Molenwaard consists of 21 seats, which are divided as follows:

Notable people

* Johannes Gysius (ca. 1583 – 1652 in Streefkerk) a Dutch historian and minister *

Fop Smit Fop Smit (11 October 1777 – 25 August 1866) was a Dutch naval architect, shipbuilder, and shipowner. He founded the towage and salvage company L. Smit & Co that is now part of Smit International. His shipyard had a number of "firsts" in ship ...

(1777 in Alblasserdam – 1866) a Dutch naval architect, shipbuilder, and shipowner * Aart den Boer (1852 in Nieuw-Lekkerland – 1941) a Dutch architect and contractor * Simon Bon (1904 in Nieuwpoort – 1987) a Dutch rower, competed at the

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...

and 1928 Summer Olympics *

Herbertus Bikker Herbertus Bikker (born 15 July 1915 in Wijngaarden, Netherlands – died 1 November 2008 in Haspe, Germany), also known as ''The Butcher of Ommen'', was a Dutch war criminal. He was a member of the Waffen-SS. In this function, Bikker served as a g ...

(1915 in Wijngaarden – 2008) a Dutch war criminal and member of the

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

* Els Veder-Smit (born 1921 in Kinderdijk) a retired Dutch politician * Willem Aantjes (1923 in Bleskensgraaf – 2015) a Dutch politician and jurist * Ad Dekkers (1938 in Nieuwpoort - 1974) a Dutch artist of reliefs * Gert Schutte (born 1939 in Nieuwpoort) a retired Dutch politician and teacher *

Dirk van der Borg D.R. (Dirk) van der Borg (born 3 November 1955 in Thesinge) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). Van der Borg has been acting mayor of Sliedrecht since 31 March 2020. Previously he was acting mayor of Molenlanden fr ...

(born 1955 in Thesinge) a Dutch politician, Mayor of Molenwaard since 2013 *

Corien Wortmann-Kool C.M. (Corien) Wortmann-Kool (born 27 June 1959 in Oud-Alblas) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (Christen-Democratisch Appèl) who served as a Member of the European Parliament from 2004 until 2014. She has a background in ...

(born 1959 in Oud-Alblas) a Dutch politician and

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

* Maarten Demmink (born in 1967 in Goudriaan) known as Demiak, is a Dutch painter, photographer and sculptor * Merijn Korevaar (born 1994) and Jeanne Korevaar (born 1996) Dutch racing cyclists born in Groot-Ammers

References

External links

*
Official website
{{Authority control Molenlanden Former municipalities of South Holland Municipalities of the Netherlands established in 2013 Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2019