Oud-Zuilen 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

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

. It is a part of the municipality of

Stichtse Vecht Stichtse Vecht is a municipality of the Netherlands and lies in the northwestern part of the province of Utrecht. The municipality has about 63,000 inhabitants and covers an area of about 107 km² (41 sq mi). Stichtse Vecht has been newly ...

, and lies about 4 km northwest of

. It is in an area called the "

Vechtstreek The Vechtstreek () (Dutch for "Vecht area") is a region in the Dutch provinces of Utrecht and North Holland along the Vecht River between the towns of Utrecht and Amsterdam. Located in the economic heartland of the Netherlands, it is known for it ...

Zuylen Castle Zuylen Castle (Dutch: ''Slot Zuylen'' - ) is a Dutch castle at the village of Oud-Zuilen just north of the city of Utrecht. It is located along the river Vecht at the southern end of the Vechtstreek. The castle was originally built in the 13th ...

is located in the village.

History

The village was first mentioned 1200 as Sulen and maybe in 1169 as well. The etymology is unclear. It is called Oud (old) to distinguish from

Zuilen Zuilen is a district in the Northwest section of the Dutch city of Utrecht. Zuilen is bordered by the train line and the river Vecht, the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal, the street Marnixlaan, and the city borders at the north. The neighborhood Elink ...

which is nowadays a neighbourhood of the

city of Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Neth ...

. Oud-Zuilen started as a little village probably near the castle. Zuylen Castle dates from at least 1178, and the wooden castle Tule from 883 could have been its predecessor. The van Borselen family who owned the castle were in dispute with the city of Utrecht, and the castle was destroyed in 1422 by angry citizens. In 1520, the castle was rebuilt. The current castle dates from the 18th century and is now a museum. A chapel in Oud-Zuilen was first mentioned in 1050. The Dutch Reformed Church was built in 1654, but lost in a fire in 1847, however some parts like the

cartouches In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the fea ...

were salvaged. In 1840, Oud-Zuilen was home to 318 people. In 1954, the municipality was dissolved. Oud-Zuilen and the hamlet Oostwaard were transferred to

Maarssen Maarssen () is a town in the middle of the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht, along the river Vecht and the Amsterdam–Rhine Canal. The west of Maarssen is called Maarssen-BroekStatistics are taken from thSDU Staatscourant whereas the east ...

, and the remainder became a neighbourhood of Utrecht. There are two wind mills in Oud-Zuilen. The Westbroekse Molen is a polder mill from 1753. In 1947, a Diesel engine was installed to pump the excess water, however it frequently failed. The pumping station Van Eijkgemaal was built between 1970 and 1971 as a replacement, and the wind mill was sold in 1974. In 1983, it was restored and has been recommissioned as a backup system. The Buitenwegse Molen dates from 1830, and is a so-called wipmolen. It was also in use as a polder mill, and remained a backup after the pumping station was built. In 2016, it was severely damaged by fire, and restored in 2017-2018.

Gallery

File:Hoekbrug over de Vecht tussen Oud-Zuilen en Maarssen.jpg, Bridge over the Vecht File:De Bernardushoeve aan de Nedereindsevaard in Oud-Zuilen.jpg, Farm in Oud-Zuilen File:In Oud-Zuilen aangekomen in de Dorpsstaat.jpg, Village view File:Oud-Zuilen Westbroekse & Buitenwegse Molen.jpg, Westbroekse and Buitenwegse wind mill

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Utrecht (province) Stichtse Vecht