Niftrik is a village in the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

province of

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

. It is located in the municipality of

Wijchen Wijchen () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a town in the province of Gelderland, in the eastern part of the Netherlands. Population centres Number of residents per population centre per 12 December 2009: Source: Statis ...

, about 4 km southwest of that town. The village was first mentioned in 1117 as Nifterka. The etymology is unclear. The first church was built in 1308. After the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...

, it became a Dutch Reformed church. In 1715, the Catholics built a

clandestine church A clandestine church ( nl, schuilkerk), defined by historian Benjamin J. Kaplan as a "semi-clandestine church", is a house of worship used by religious minorities whose communal worship is tolerated by those of the majority faith on condition th ...

in the village. In 1795, the village church was returned to Roman Catholic church. A new church was constructed between 1891 and 1892. On 10 May 1940, the day of the

German invasion of the Netherlands The German invasion of the Netherlands ( nl, Duitse aanval op Nederland), otherwise known as the Battle of the Netherlands ( nl, Slag om Nederland), was a military campaign part of Case Yellow (german: Fall Gelb), the Nazi German invasion of t ...

, the church as well as the houses which were visible over the dike were demolished by the Dutch army in order to have an unobstructed view. The church was rebuilt later that year. Niftrik was home to 327 people 1840. Niftrik was a separate municipality until 1818, when it was merged with Wijchen.

Gallery

File:Niftrik Rijksmonument 523604 Gemaal Citters II Maasbandijk 2.JPG, Pumping station Citters II File:Niftrik (Wijchen) Gildenhuis St.Damianus, Gildenstraat 11.JPG, Guild House File:Niftrik VSM 23 071 Den Bosch stoom SSN 23 023 (51516540464).jpg, Steam train File:Niftrik (Wijchen) Kerkstraat 9, school Gem.Mon..JPG, School in Niftrik

References

Populated places in Gelderland Former municipalities of Gelderland Wijchen {{Gelderland-geo-stub