Nieuw-Lekkerland () is a town in the western Netherlands, in the 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 situated on the southern shores of the Lek River, in the north-west of the Alblasserwaard. The town's name evolved slightly over time: in 1280 Leckerlant, in 1331 Niewe Leckerland, and in 1903 Nieuw Lekkerland. It means "land of or near the river Lek" with the addition of "''nieuw''" ("new") to distinguish it from Old Lekkerland (now Lekkerkerk) across the river.

History

The name Nieue-Leckelant appears for the first time around 1325. The most notable building used to be Castle Schoonenburg. Because of its elevated location on a mount, it served as a refuge for the people during floods before the reclamation of the Alblasserwaard. After 1456, the castle was abandoned and became a ruin. Its remains were thereafter probably used to rebuild a church tower. Only the mount is still visible. In 1848, 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 ...

was built. Nieuw-Lekkerland's economy was based on agriculture, cattle raising, and fishing. In the 19th century, ship building and industry developed, resulting in an increasing population: from 770 in 1820, 1153 in 1840, 2000 in 1867, to 9400 in 2004. In 2013, the municipality of Nieuw-Lekkerland merged into the new municipality of

Molenwaard Molenwaard () is a former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the southeastern part of the province of South Holland, and the northwestern part of the region of Alblasserwaard. It was the result of a merger of the municipalities of Gra ...

. In 2019, Molenwaard merged into Molenlanden.

Attractions

The number one attraction nearby are the adjacent

windmills at Kinderdijk The windmills at Kinderdijk are a group of 19 monumental windmills in the Alblasserwaard polder, in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. Most of the mills are part of the village of Kinderdijk in the municipality of Molenlanden, and one m ...

. In Nieuw-Lekkerland, a retirement home on the

Lek Lek or LEK may refer to: * Lek mating, mating in a lek, a type of animal territory in which males of a species gather * Albanian lek, the currency of Albania * Lek (magazine), a Norwegian softcore pornographic magazine * Lek (pharmaceutical comp ...

dike was built in 1885, designed by

Aart den Boer Aart den Boer (30 December 1852 in Nieuw-Lekkerland – 11 May 1941) was a Dutch architect and contractor. Life Den Boer began his career as a carpenter and, through evening classes, became teacher of technical drawings (and later superinte ...

. It was commissioned as a dike management house by Leendert Smit Fopzoon, Ambachtsheer van Nieuw-Lekkerland and his spouse Neeltje Smit. The eclectic-styled building has space for about 15 inhabitants and a landlord. The basement houses the kitchen, the ground floor holds the common room and the second floor contains the room of the regent.

Gallery

File:Nieuw-Lekkerland 1867.png, Nieuw-Lekkerland in 1867 File:Nieuw Lekkerland Hoge Molen 6395.JPG, in Nieuw-Lekkerland File:Nieuw_Lekkerland_Kleine_Molen_6381.JPG, in Nieuw-Lekkerland File:House in Nieuw-Lekkerland, 1643.jpg, House in Nieuw-Lekkerland, built in 1643

References

External links

plattegronden.nl
{{Authority control Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2013 Former municipalities of South Holland Populated places in South Holland Molenlanden