Niehove (old name: ''Suxwort'') is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in the municipality of

Westerkwartier The Westerkwartier (; en, Western Quarter) is a historical region in the Dutch province of Groningen, at the border with the provinces of Drenthe and Friesland. In the past the area was part of the historical region of Frisia. The West Frisi ...

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

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 ...

. The village was located on the island of in the former

Lauwerszee Lauwersmeer () is a man-made lake in the north of the Netherlands, on the border of the provinces of Groningen and Friesland. The lake was formed on 23 May 1969, when the dike between the bay called Lauwers Sea and the Wadden Sea was closed. It is ...

from 800 until 1500. It is a ''

terp A ''terp'', also known as a ''wierde, woerd, warf, warft, werf, werve, wurt'' or ''værft'', is an artificial dwelling mound found on the North European Plain that has been created to provide safe ground during storm surges, high tides an ...

'' (artificial living hill) village with two ring roads and the church in the middle. The village is a protected site. In 2019, ''

Elsevier Weekblad ''Elsevier Weekblad'', abbreviated to ''EW'', still known as ''Elsevier'', is a Dutch weekly news magazine. With a circulation of over 68,000 copies as of 2018, it is the Netherlands' most popular news magazine. Its chief editor is Arendo Joustra ...

'' named Niehove the most beautiful village of the Netherlands.

History

Niehove has been permanently inhabited since at least the

2nd century BC The 2nd century BC started the first day of 200 BC and ended the last day of 101 BC. It is considered part of the Classical era, although depending on the region being studied, other terms may be more suitable. It is also considered to be ...

. It used to be known as Suxwort. It is a ''

'' (artificial living hill) village with a radial structure. The church is located in the middle at a height of . There are two ring roads around the ''terp'', and the houses and farms were built along the roads. Paths run down the hill like spokes in a wheel. Around 800, the

, a bay in the

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( nl, Waddenzee ; german: Wattenmeer; nds, Wattensee or ; da, Vadehavet; fy, Waadsee, longname=yes; frr, di Heef) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern conti ...

, started to form and Suxwort found itself on a little island called Humsterland. Around 1200, the frequency of floods started to increase, and to protect the village a

dike Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes, ...

was built around the island. At the end of the 14th century, a '' provost'' and court house were established in the village. Around the same time, the village of Suxwort was renamed Niehove. Hummerze, the other village on the island, was renamed Oldehove. Around 1500,

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

monks from the

Aduard Abbey Aduard Abbey ( nl, Abdij van Aduard, ''Abdij Sint-Bernardus in Aduard'') is a former Cistercian abbey in the village of Aduard about 8 kilometres to the north-west of Groningen in the Netherlands, founded in 1192 and dissolved in 1580. History Th ...

started to built dikes and ''

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plains s ...

'' the land, and Suxwort returned to the mainland.

Christianity

The early relation of Suxwort with Christianity was troublesome. In 754,

Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant ...

was killed near

Dokkum Dokkum is a Dutch fortified city in the municipality of Noardeast-Fryslân in the province of Friesland. It has 12,669 inhabitants (February 8, 2020). The fortifications of Dokkum are well preserved and are known as the ''bolwerken'' (bulwarks). ...

by a mob of bandits from the east of the

which probably referred to the area around Suxwort. His successor

Willehad Willehad or Willihad ( la, Willehadus/Willihadus); 745 AD 8 November 789) was a Christian missionary and possibly the Bishop of Bremen from 787 AD. Willehad was born in Northumbria and probably received his education at York under Ecgbert. ...

arrived in Suxwort in 777 and had to flee for his life.

Ludger Ludger ( la, Ludgerus; also Lüdiger or Liudger) (born at Zuilen near Utrecht 742; died 26 March 809 at Billerbeck) was a missionary among the Frisians and Saxons, founder of Werden Abbey and the first Bishop of Münster in Westphalia. He has ...

, the next missionary, did manage to christen the village in 804, and the first wooden church was built. The current church was built around 1230 and has no

transepts A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

. It was extended in the 15th century, and the west wing was renewed in 1619.

Recent history

Niehove was home to 310 people in 1840. In the late-19th century, a part of the ''terp'' was excavated. In 1991, the entire village of Niehove was designated a protected site. Niehove used to part of the municipality of Oldehove. In 1990, it became part of

Zuidhorn Zuidhorn () is a town and former municipality in the northeastern Netherlands. The town largely depends on the city of Groningen. A railway line, operated by Arriva, connects the town with Leeuwarden in Friesland and Groningen. Due to a municipal ...

, and in 2019, it became part of

Gallery

File:Niehove - Gezicht Kerkstraat (1).jpg, View of the ''terp'' ringroad File:Niehove - kerk.jpg, Church of Niehove File:Niehove - Molenpad.jpg, Path in Niehove File:Silhouet Niehove.jpg, View on Niehove

References

External links

*
Official site
(in Dutch) {{Authority control Westerkwartier (municipality) Populated places in Groningen (province)