Onstwedde () is a village in the region of Westerwolde and part 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 ...

. It is located in the municipality of

Stadskanaal Stadskanaal () is a town and municipality with a population of 32,715 in the province of Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. It was named after the canal Stadskanaal. From 1800 until 1900 this area was ideal for its peat mining, and so ...

. Onstwedde was also the former name of the municipality of Stadskanaal, until 1969.

History

Onstwedde was first mentioned in 875 as Uneswido in documents of the

Werden Abbey Werden Abbey (german: Kloster Werden) was a Benedictine monastery in Essen-Werden (Germany), situated on the Ruhr. The foundation of the abbey Near Essen Saint Ludger founded a monastery in 799 and became its first abbot. The little church w ...

. The name means the forest (-wido similar to the English wood) of Une (first name). The village is a double ''

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 ...

'', a communal pasture surrounded by houses. The northern pasture was called Wold, and the southern pasture Loug. Onstwedde was a part of Westerwolde, a region dominated by

raised bog Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to flora and fauna that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike fens, are exclusively fed by precipitation ( ombro ...

s which formed the natural border between

East Frisia East Frisia or East Friesland (german: Ostfriesland; ; stq, Aastfräislound) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia ...

and the

Prince-Bishopric of Münster The Prince-Bishopric of Münster (german: Fürstbistum Münster; Bistum Münster, Hochstift Münster) was a large ecclesiastical principality in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the northern part of today's North Rhine-Westphalia and western Low ...

. Onstwedde is located in the valley of the river, and was a fertile island surrounded by bogs on all sides. A dominant feature of Onstwedde is the Nicolaas Church which was constructed around 1500. It has a tall tower. The walls are thick, and it used to be surrounded by a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

and could be accessed via a

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable ...

. It is assumed that the church was also used as a fortification. Onstwedde used to be the main village of the region. In 1765, the

city 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 ...

started to dig the Stadskanaal to the south of Onstwedde in order to exploit the

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

. In 1840, the population of Onstwedde was 2,405 people, and

had 1,980 inhabitants. Stadskanaal soon surpassed Onstwedde, and in 1882, the town hall was moved to Stadskanaal. In 1969, the municipality was renamed Stadskanaal. On 20 April 1943, the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

bomber ''Mosquito II'' crashed and burnt in Smeerling near Onstwedde. The crew members are buried in a Commonwealth War Grave on the municipal cemetery.

Education

The two elementary schools of Onstwedde merged into a single entity. Since 2011, the kindergarten, elementary school and high school moved into MFA De Bast, a single building. Onstwedde is one of the few places in the Netherlands where all educational facilities are concentrated in a single building.

Smeerling

The hamlet of Smeerling is located on the road to

Vlagtwedde Vlagtwedde () is a village in the very southeast of Groningen province in the northeastern Netherlands. It lies on the Dutch border with the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. History The municipality of Vlagtwedde was created in Decemb ...

. It contains about ten houses and is home to approximately 25 people, and is considered a part of Onstwedde for statistical and postal services. There are eight farms in the hamlet which are in similar condition to the 1830 situation. Five of the farms are monuments, the others are from a later date, but traditionally constructed and match the surroundings. In 1972, the entire hamlet was designated a protected monument. The protected area measures . A two kilometre path has been constructed through the hamlet, forests and meadows of Smeerling.

Notable people

Henk Bleker Hinderk "Henk" Bleker (born 26 July 1953) is a retired Dutch politician and jurist who served as State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation in the First Rutte cabinet from 14 October 2010 to 5 November 2012. A member of ...

(born 1953), Dutch politician *

Izaak Reijnders Izaak Herman Reijnders (27 March 1879 – 31 December 1966) was in charge of the Dutch military high command just prior to World War II. He was replaced by Henri Winkelman Henri Gerard Winkelman (17 August 1876 – 27 December 1952) was a ...

(1879–1966), Dutch general

Gallery

File:Havenstraat4 Onstwedde.jpg, Former town hall File:Standerdmolen te Mussel - Onstwedde - 20173571 - RCE.jpg,

Post mill The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. Its defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single vertical post, around which it can be turned to bring the sails into the wind. All p ...

(1936) File:20191229 Pagebos en Pagediep.jpg, Pagediep, a remnant of the former bogs

References

External links

www.onstwedde.info
(in Dutch) {{Authority control Populated places in Groningen (province) Former municipalities of Groningen (province) Stadskanaal 875 establishments