Ruinerwold is a village in the Dutch province of

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Nov ...

. It is located in the municipality of

De Wolden De Wolden () is a municipality in the northeastern Netherlands in the province of Drenthe. Population centres Topography ''Dutch topographic map of the municipality of De Wolden, June 2015'' Notable people * Jan Evertsen Cloppenburgh (15 ...

, about 6 km northeast of

Meppel Meppel (; Drents: ''Möppelt'') is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It constitutes the southwestern part of the province of Drenthe. Meppel is the smallest municipality in Drenthe, with a total area of about 57 km² (22 sq ...

History

The village was first mentioned in 1792 as Ruiner wold, and means "woods belonging to

Ruinen Ruinen is a village in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is located in the municipality of De Wolden, about 10 km northwest of Hoogeveen. The Dwingelderveld National Park is located near Ruinen. History The village was first mentioned in 1 ...

". Ruinerwold is a road village which developed on a sandy ridge in the 12th century. The Dutch Reformed church is located in the former hamlet of which has merged into Ruinerwold. It has been built in the 15th century using material of this predecessor which was built around 1150 and had been damaged by fire. The upper part of the tower was restored after a 1730 fire. Rich farmers formerly lived in Ruinerwold, where they constructed expansive farms with ornate embellishments. Ruinerwold was home to 1,245 people in 1840. Ruinerwold was a separate municipality until 1998, when it became part of De Wolden.

Hermit family

In October 2019, a 67-year-old man, Gerrit Jan van Dorsten, and his six adult children were discovered, who had lived for nine years in

seclusion Seclusion is the act of secluding (i.e. isolating from society), the state of being secluded, or a place that facilitates it (a secluded place). A person, couple, or larger group may go to a secluded place for privacy or peace and quiet. The se ...

in a farm house in Ruinerwold. The father was charged with unlawful

deprivation of liberty Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is "false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessari ...

and harming other people's health. The charges were later dropped due to his poor health.

Gallery

File:Ruinerwold, Haakswold 7 RM-507382-WLM.jpg, House in Ruinerwold File:Exterieur OVERZICHT VOORGEVEL - Ruinerwold - 20264868 - RCE.jpg, Farm in Ruinerwold File:Oude gemeentehuis van Ruinerwold.JPG, Former town hall File:P1020081Dokter de Larijweg Ruinerwold.JPG, Trees along the road

References

External links

Local news website (in Dutch)
{{Authority control Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 1998 Populated places in Drenthe Former municipalities of Drenthe De Wolden