Tolbert 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

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 part of the municipality of

Westerkwartier The Westerkwartier (; en, Western Quarter) is a historical region in the Dutch province of Groningen, at the border with the provinces of Drenthe and Friesland. In the past the area was part of the historical region of Frisia. The West Frisi ...

and forms a single urban area with

Leek The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alli ...

History

Tolbert is located in the region. The area was settled during the 10th and 11th century. It was first mentioned in 1479 as Oldebert. The name is a contraction of ''het'' (the

definite article An article is any member of a class of dedicated words that are used with noun phrases to mark the identifiability of the referents of the noun phrases. The category of articles constitutes a part of speech. In English, both "the" and "a(n)" ar ...

) ''ol(de)'' (old) and ''bert'' (village), and literally means "the old village". The church is from the 17th century, but contains 13th century parts. The parish dates from the 14th century. In 1794, Tolbert bought a seat in the States of Groningen from

Aduard Aduard () is a village in the municipality of Westerkwartier, in the Netherlands. It is located about 8 km northwest of Groningen. The history of Aduard dates back to the foundation in 1192 of the Cistercian Aduard Abbey, where famous ear ...

, and in 1795 was the seat of a municipality with Midwolde, and Oostwold. In 1795, it was home to 476 people. By 1817, it was part of the municipality of

. Tolbert was mainly an agricultural community, however the industrialisation of nearby Leek attracted people to the village. In 1907, there was a

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

outbreak in Tolbert. After World War II, Tolbert and Leek became a single urban area, however it remained a separate entity. In 2019, it became part of the municipality of

Sports

In 1950, a

street circuit A street circuit is a motorsport racing circuit composed of temporarily closed-off public roads of a city, town or village, used in motor races. Airport runways and taxiways are also sometimes part of street circuits. Facilities such as the p ...

for

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

racing was set-up in the village. In 1956, it was considered too dangerous and was no longer permitted. In 1970, permission was granted outside the build-up area. In 1984,

Jack Middelburg Jack Middelburg (30 April 1952 – 3 April 1984) was a Dutch professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Together with Wil Hartog and Boet van Dulmen, he was part of a contingent of Dutch riders who competed at the highest levels of Grand Pri ...

was killed during a race. In 2008, the races ended, because the organisation could not finance the required safety investments.

Gallery

File:Tolbert - hervormde kerk - achterzijde.jpg, Church File:Tolbert - café-slijterij Akker.jpg, Pub "De Akker" File:Voorgevel - Tolbert - 20209731 - RCE.jpg, Village centre (1975) File:Tolberterhoofdvaart Tolbert West.jpeg, View along the main canal

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Groningen (province) Westerkwartier (municipality)