Oudeschans () is a small

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 ...

with a population of around 100 in the municipality of Westerwolde in the province of

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 ...

in the

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 16th-century

fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

is now a state protected village area with several national heritage sites, among which a 17th-century garrison church, and the

Vestingmuseum Oudeschans Vestingmuseum Oudeschans (; en, Oudeschans Fortification Museum) is a local museum in the village of Oudeschans in the Netherlands. The museum shows the history of the 16th-century fortification of Oudeschans and has a collection of archaeologi ...

Etymology

The fortification was initially named Bellingwolderschans, meaning

Sconce Sconce may refer to: *Sconce (fortification), a military fortification *Sconce (light fixture) *Sconcing, imposing a penalty in the form of drink *Sconce Point Fort Victoria is a former military fort on the Isle of Wight, England (), built to ...

Bellingwolde Bellingwolde (; Gronings: ''Bennewolle'') is a village with a population of 2,655 people in the municipality Westerwolde in the Netherlands. It is situated in the southeast of the region Oldambt, in the north of the region Westerwolde, and in ...

, in 1593. It was renamed Oudeschans, meaning Old Sconce, after the fortification of

Nieuweschans Bad Nieuweschans (also ''Lange Akkeren''; ; Gronings: ''Nij-Schans''; German: ''Bad Neuschanz'') is a village in the north-eastern Netherlands on the border with Germany. It forms part of the municipality of Oldambt. Nieuweschans means "new fort ...

, meaning New Sconce, was built in 1628.De vesting
, Stichting Vesting Oudeschans. Retrieved on 12 February 2014.

History

In 1593, during 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 ...

, the fortification was built by

William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg William Louis of Nassau-Dillenburg ( nl, Willem Lodewijk; fry, Willem Loadewyk; 13 March 1560, Dillenburg, Hesse – 13 July 1620, Leeuwarden, Netherlands) was Count of Nassau-Dillenburg from 1606 to 1620, and stadtholder of Friesland, ...

to strengthen the strategically important Bellingwolderzijl (

Sluice Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...

of Bellingwolde) connecting the river Westerwoldsche Aa to the

Dollart The Dollart (German name) or Dollard (Dutch name) is a bay in the Wadden Sea between the northern Netherlands and Germany, on the west side of the estuary of the Ems river. Most of it dries at low tide. Many water birds feed there. Gaining ...

. The fortification was used for military purposes until 1814. In the 1980s, some of the walls, canals, and bastions were restored. In 1991, the fortification became a state protected village area ( nl, beschermd dorpsgezicht). File:Bellingwolder Schans (Atlas van Loon).jpg, Map of the fortification from the ''

Atlas Van Loon The ''Atlas van Loon'' was commissioned by Frederik Willem van Loon of Amsterdam. It consists of a large number of maps published between 1649 and 1676: * ''Volumes I to IX:'' The Dutch edition of Joan Blaeu's ''Atlas Maior'' (''Grooten Atlas' ...

'' (1649) File:Luchtfoto's - Oudeschans - 20179327 - RCE.jpg, Aerial photograph, 1977 File:Rijksbeschermd stads- of dorpsgezicht - Oudeschans.png, Protected village area

Geography

Oudeschans is located at (53.14, 7.14) in the north of the municipality of Westerwolde, in the east of the province of

, in the northeast of the

. The village is in the southeast of the region Oldambt, situated between the river Westerwoldse Aa in the west and the canal B.L. Tijdenskanaal in the east. The nearest village is

to the southeast and the nearest city is

Winschoten Winschoten (; gos, Winschoot) is a city with a population of 18,518 in the municipality of Oldambt in the northeast of the Netherlands. It is the largest city in the region of Oldambt in the province of Groningen which has 38,213 inhabitants. ...

to the west. Other nearby villages are

Beerta Beerta () is a village and former municipality with a population of 2,205 in the municipality of Oldambt in the province of Groningen in the Netherlands. In the 20th century, Beerta was a communist stronghold. In 1933, the municipal council was ...

in the northwest,

Bad Nieuweschans Bad Nieuweschans (also ''Lange Akkeren''; ; Gronings: ''Nij-Schans''; German: ''Bad Neuschanz'') is a village in the north-eastern Netherlands on the border with Germany. It forms part of the municipality of Oldambt (municipality), Oldambt. Nieuw ...

in the northeast,

Vriescheloo Vriescheloo (; Gronings: ''Vraiskeloo'') is a village in the municipality of Westerwolde in the Netherlands. History Vrieschloo is a linear settlement on the sand ridge which formed the old road between Groningen and Germany. The village date ...

in the south, and

Blijham Blijham () is a village with a population of 2,240 in the municipality of Westerwolde in the province of Groningen in the Netherlands. The origins of the settlement date back to the 11th century. Until 1968, Blijham was part of the municipality ...

in the southwest. Oudeschans is an administrative neighborhood ( nl, buurt) in the district ( nl, wijk, links=no) of Bellingwolde. The neighborhood has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Demographics

In 2012, the village had a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 95 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of .

Attractions

The 17th-century

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

, walls, canal,

bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

s, and several other buildings are state monuments ( nl,

rijksmonument A rijksmonument (, ) is a national heritage site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. At the end of February 2015, the Netherlands ...

en).

is a local museum about the history of the fortification of Oudeschans with a display of archaeological findings from the 17th and 18th centuries.Vestingmuseum
Stichting Vesting Oudeschans. Retrieved on 12 February 2014. File:Oudeschans Doodenbastion.jpg, Bastion File:Oudeschans vestingwerken.jpg, Canal and draw bridge File:Garnizoenskerk met pastorie Oudeschaans.jpg, Garrison church File:Vestingmuseum Oudeschans 2.jpg, Vestingmuseum and art gallery File:Overzicht voorgevel met entree - Oudeschans - 20415973 - RCE.jpg, Farmhouse

References

External links

*
Oudeschans
on the municipal website {{Dutch municipality Bellingwedde Star forts Forts in the Netherlands Populated places in Groningen (province) Westerwolde (municipality)