Termunten () is a village in the Dutch 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 ...

. It is a part of the municipality of Eemsdelta, and lies about 33 km east of

. Termunten was an independent municipality until 1990, when it was merged with Delfzijl.

History

The village was first mentioned in 1224 as "in Menterne". The etymology is unclear. Termunten is a '' terp'' (artificial living hill) village with a grid structure from the early middle ages. In 1258, a

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

monastery was founded in Termunten by the Aduard Abbey. The monastery was destroyed in 1569 and scavenged for dike construction. Around 1300, the former river was dammed and a

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 ...

was installed. The village of Termunterzijl developed around the sluice. The sluice was destroyed in 1686 by a flood. The current sluice was built in 1724 by the city of Groningen. The Dutch Reformed church dates from the 13th century, but has some 12th century elements. It was enlarged several times, but damaged by war in 1945. In 1951, the church was restored and the current tower was built. Termunten was home to 440 people in 1840. Between 1912 and 1948, there was a tram line between Ter Apel and Delfzijl. A train shed was located in Termunten which nowadays serves as a fish restaurant. There are several bunkers near Termunten which were built by the Germans in 1944 to protect Delfzijl and

Emden Emden () is an independent city and seaport in Lower Saxony in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia and, in 2011, had a total population of 51,528. History The exact founding date of E ...

. In April 1945, there was a large battle at the so-called Delfzijl pocket. The battery used to contain the largest

anti-aircraft gun Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

of the Netherlands. Termunten was an independent municipality until 1990, when it was merged into Delfzijl.

Gallery

File:Overzicht, restant van een luchtdoelgeschutspositie van de Duitsers uit de Tweede Werelsoorlog - Termunten - 20429990 - RCE.jpg, Remnant of an antiaircraft gun position built by the Germans in the Second World War along the coast at Termunten File:Ursuskerk in Termunten.jpg, Ursus Church File:Termunten.gif, Map of Termunten from around 1868 File:Visrestaurant De remise Termunten (26484465856).jpg, Train shed annex fish restaurant

References

External links

* {{Authority control Former municipalities of Groningen (province) Populated places in Groningen (province) Eemsdelta