Ouderkerk aan den IJssel (; en, Ouderkerk upon

IJssel The IJssel (; nds-nl, Iessel(t) ) is a Dutch distributary of the river Rhine that flows northward and ultimately discharges into the IJsselmeer (before the 1932 completion of the Afsluitdijk known as the Zuiderzee), a North Sea natural harbour ...

) is a village in the municipality of

Krimpenerwaard Krimpenerwaard () is a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality, a List of regions of the Netherlands, region and a former Water board (Netherlands), water board of the Netherlands. It is a rural area located in the east of the p ...

, 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 ...

, the Netherlands. It is situated along the river

Hollandse IJssel The Hollandse (or Hollandsche) IJssel (; "Holland IJssel", as opposed to the 'regular' or Gelderland IJssel) is a branch of the Rhine delta that flows westward from Nieuwegein on river Lek through IJsselstein, Gouda and Capelle aan den IJssel t ...

and has over 4000 inhabitants. Ouderkerk aan den IJssel, together with Lageweg and IJssellaan, was a separate municipality until 1 January 1985 when the municipalities in the Krimpenerwaard were reorganized and it was merged with

Gouderak Gouderak is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is located 4 km southwest of Gouda on the river Hollandsche IJssel, in the municipality of Krimpenerwaard. Gouderak was a separate municipality until 1985, when it merged with ...

to form the municipality

Ouderkerk Ouderkerk () is a former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Since 2015 it has been a part of the municipality of Krimpenerwaard. The former municipality covered an area of of which was water. It was for ...

. Of these, Ouderkerk aan den IJssel is the largest population centre and the location of the town hall.

History

The town is named for its "old church", which was a prominent landmark for centuries on the horizon for ships travelling along the IJssel river. There is an indication that a little church may have been present here in the 10th century. This would be remarkable since the Krimpenerwaard would have been a swamp at that time except for some minor hills. As the Krimpenerwaard has dried up and the river dikes along the river have been raised, the church has "sunk" much lower in the landscape today than in former centuries, which was the reason for raising the tower in the 19th century. The oldest official reference to the village is from 1263 when it was called ''Oudekerke''. Though several Roman coins from the fourth century have been found, this does not confirm the presence of a Roman settlement. But it is probable that there was an older village here called ''IJsele'' until the 12th century. Remains of a

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...

stone church foundation from that same century have been found.

Henry de Nassau, Lord Overkirk Henry, Count of Nassau, Lord of Overkirk (Dutch: ''Hendrik van Nassau-Ouwerkerk'', French: ''Henry de Nassau d'Auverquerque'') (1640 – 18 October 1708) was a Dutch military general and second cousin of King William III of England and his Mast ...

, an army leader during the

Spanish War of Succession Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, is buried in the main church.

Notable people

Stefan de Vrij Stefan de Vrij (born 5 February 1992) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre back for club Inter Milan and the Netherlands national team. He began his career at his local club VV Spirit, and debuted as a professional for Fe ...

, footballer * Javier Guzman, cabaretier, comedian * Ramon Stoppelenburg, author, world traveler File:Ouderkerk 1867.png, Ouderkerk aan den IJssel in 1867. File:Baarhuisje.jpg, Old wooden mortuarium built in the early 19th century in neoclassical style for the cemetery situated against the dijk. File:Dorpstraat21.jpg, Dorpstraat, behind the church. Populated places in South Holland Former municipalities of South Holland Krimpenerwaard {{SouthHolland-geo-stub