Roden () is a town 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 Drenthe. It is located in the municipality of

Noordenveld Noordenveld () is a municipality in the northeastern part of the Netherlands. Population centres Water Board Noordenveld Noordenveld is also the name of a former Water Board, which had its office in Roden. Water Board Noordenveld arose fro ...

, about 16 km (10 miles) southwest of Groningen.

History

The village was first mentioned in 1139 as Rothen, and means "settlement near a clearing in the forest". Roden is an ''

esdorp __NOTOC__ An ''Angerdorf'' (plural: ''Angerdörfer'') is a type of village that is characterised by the houses and farmsteads being laid out around a central grassed area, the ''anger'' (from the Old High German ''angar'' =pasture or grassy place ...

'' which developed in the Early Middle Ages. It has a large ''brink'' (village square) near the church and a double triangular ''brink'' around what is nowadays called Julianaplein. The Dutch Reformed church has three aisles and dates from the 13th century. The tower has a constricted needle spire which dates from the 15th or 16th century. The church was extended in the 15th century. The church was restored several times during the Dutch Revolt due to war damage. Huis Mensinge or Huis te Roden is a ''

havezate A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals wi ...

'' (manor house) which was built in the 15th century as a replacement of an estate from 1381. It was plundered by Groningen in 1498. The building received its current shape in 1728. In 1985, it was sold to the municipality and now contains a museum. Roden was home to 1,889 people in 1840. In the 1950s, it started to develop as an industrial centre. The Kapteyn Astronomical Institute was established in the town as the astronomy department of the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. Founded in 1614, the university is th ...

, and it started to develop as a commuter town for Groningen. Many of the nearby hamlets have been annexed. An ''

Ot en Sien ''Ot en Sien'' is a Dutch children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre ...

'' statue, the main characters from a famous Dutch children's book, has been placed on the village square. Roden was a separate municipality until 1998, when it merged into the municipality of Noordenveld as a part of municipal reorganisations, however it is still the capital of the municipality.

Notable people

Peter Dijkstra Peter Dijkstra (born 11 June 1978) is a Dutch conductor, especially of choirs and vocal ensembles. Born in Roden, Drenthe, Dijkstra sang in his youth in Jongenskoor Roder, a boys' choir, which his father, Bouwe Dijkstra, founded in 1985. He sang t ...

(born 1978), conductor

Gallery

File:RodenChurch.jpg, Church of Roden File:Groepsaccommodatie de Zwerfsteen 2011.jpg, Holiday home File:20201118 Kapteyn Sterrenwacht Roden.jpg, Kapteyn Astronomical Institute File:Dezulthe.jpg, Villa Dezulthe

References

External links

* {{Authority control Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 1998 Former municipalities of Drenthe Populated places in Drenthe Noordenveld