Veenendaal () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in central

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 ...

, located in the province of

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

. Veenendaal is the only population centre within its administrative borders. The municipality had a population of 67.601 inhabitants on 1 january 2022 and covers an area of .

History

The original village was founded in the middle of the 16th century as a

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 ...

colony from which it got its name. ''Veen'' is 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 ...

word for

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. T ...

and ''daal'' for dale. The village was administratively part of two nearby towns, which were themselves part of two different provinces of the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

. The southern half belonged to

Rhenen Rhenen () is a municipality and a city in the central Netherlands. The municipality also includes the villages of Achterberg, Remmerden, Elst and Laareind. The town lies at a geographically interesting location, namely on the southernmost par ...

, the northeastern half to Ede in

Guelders The Duchy of Guelders ( nl, Gelre, french: Gueldre, german: Geldern) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries. Geography The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in pr ...

. In 1795, with the arrival of French troops in the country and inspired by the ideas of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, the citizens declared their independence. When turmoil of the

Napoleonic era The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislative ...

was settled and the

was reformed as a monarchy, only the southern part would retain its independence. In the 19th century, wool and tobacco industry became Veenendaal's largest source of income. Big factories dominated the otherwise small rural town. In 1855, Veenendaal was hit by a flood, which caused many residents to flee to

. A monument was erected near the

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

. In 1960 the northern part of town, still controlled by Ede, was merged with the self-governing part of town. Further lands of Rhenen and also

Renswoude Renswoude () is a municipality and a town in the central Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. Topography ''Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Renswoude, June 2015'' Notable people * Jan Hendrik Waszink (1908–1990) a Dutch Lat ...

were ceded to allow for new housing developments. The population grew rapidly from about 10,000 in the 1920s, to 23,000 in 1960, to the 68,000+ inhabitants of today. In 1997 the town was elected the greenest city in Europe and in 2004 of the Netherlands. Like most Dutch cities, Veenendaal is well adapted to the high number of cyclists. A large network of bike paths make it convenient to cycle to various destinations and within the town, the bike is a popular mean of transportation. In 2000 and 2020, Veenendaal was chosen as '' Fietsstad'' of the year, recognised as being the top city for cycling in the Netherlands.

Religion

The city is known for being one of the bigger cities within the Dutch Bible Belt (together with Ede and Kampen), as it is inhabited by a considerable number (though not a majority) of conservative

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

Notable residents

Antonie Aris van de Loosdrecht Antonie Aris van de Loosdrecht (1 March 1885, Veenendaal – 26 July 1917, Tana Toraja) was a Dutch missionary.Th. van den End. 1994. Sumber-sumber zending tentang Gereja Toraja. Jakarta: BPK Gunung Mulia. p. 11 He was sent by Gereformeerde Zendi ...

(1885-1917) a Dutch missionary to the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

Kees Stip Cornelis Jan (Kees) Stip (Veenendaal, August 25, 1913 – Winschoten, June 27, 2001) was a Dutch epigram poet. He wrote under many pseudonyms, most notably ''Trijntje Fop'' and ''Chronos''. Biography Stip studied classical languages at the Rijks ...

(1913-2001) a Dutch

epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two mille ...

poet *

Bram van Ojik Abraham "Bram" van Ojik (born 22 September 1954) is Dutch politician and diplomat of the GreenLeft (GL) party and activist. Since 23 March 2017 he has been a member of the House of Representatives. He previously served in the House from 1993 to ...

(born 1954) a Dutch politician, diplomat and activist *

Roelof Bisschop Roelof Bisschop (born 30 November 1956 in Staphorst) is a Dutch historian and politician. As a member of the Reformed Political Party (SGP) he has been an House of Representatives (Netherlands), MP since 20 September 2012. Previously he was a memb ...

(born 1956) a Dutch historian and politician, Veenendaal municipal councillor 1986 to 2007 *

Stef Bos Steven "Stef" Bos (born 12 July 1961 in Veenendaal) is a Dutch singer who has been living in Cape Town, South Africa. He sings in Dutch (and occasionally in Afrikaans), and has been successful in Belgium, the Netherlands and South Africa ever s ...

(born 1961) a Dutch singer who lives in Cape Town, South Africa *

Frits Wester Frits Wester (born 29 March 1962) is a Dutch journalist. He is best known as parliamentary correspondent for RTL Nieuws. Biography Wester was born in 1962 in the Dutch town Veenendaal. He was already engaged in politics at a young age, and was ...

(born 1962) a Dutch journalist, political analyst on Dutch TV * Jan Engelaar (born 1968) stage name ''

DJ Jean DJ Jean (born Jean Engelaar, 7 May 1968) is a Dutch disc jockey. Biography He is most popular for his space countdown themed hard house single "The Launch". He has been an influential figure in the electronic music scene since the early 1990s. He ...

'', a Dutch disc jockey *

Carla Dik-Faber Roelofje Klazina (Carla) Dik-Faber (born 6 May 1971 in Voorburg) is a Dutch art historian and politician. As a member of the ChristianUnion (ChristenUnie) she has been a Member of Parliament since 20 September 2012. She was a member of the munic ...

(born 1971) a Dutch art historian and politician, Veenendaal municipal councillor 2003 to 2010 *

Yuri Landman Yuri Landman (born 1 February 1973) is a Dutch inventor of musical instruments and musician who has made several experimental electric string instruments for a number of artists including Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, Liars, Jad Fair of Half Japan ...

(born 1973) experimental musical instrument builder * Bas Oskam (born 1980) stage name ''

Noisecontrollers Bas Oskam, better known by his stage name Noisecontrollers, is a Dutch DJ and hardstyle music producer based in Veenendaal, Netherlands. Noisecontrollers was formerly a duo before Arjan Terpstra left the project in 2013, prompting Oskam to cont ...

'', a Dutch DJ and

hardstyle Hardstyle is an electronic dance genre that emerged in the late 1990s, with origins in the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy. Hardstyle mixes influences from techno, new beat and hardcore. Early hardstyle was typically written at 140 BPM (''beat ...

music producer * Sandra Beckerman (born 1983) a Dutch MP * Joram Metekohy (born 1983) stage name ''

Wildstylez Joram Metekohy (born 7 January 1983), better known by his stage name Wildstylez, is a Dutch hardstyle DJ and record producer. Having previously released hardstyle records under the alias 'Seizure', Joram Metekohy had his first solo release as Wi ...

'', a Dutch

DJ and record producer * Willem Rebergen (born 1985) stage name ''

Headhunterz Willem Rebergen (born 12 September 1985), better known by his stage name ''Headhunterz'', is a Dutch DJ and music producer. Rebergen is also a voice actor. He has done dubbing for several movies and TV series. He started his career in 2005 wor ...

'', a Dutch DJ and record producer *

Nicky Romero Nick Rotteveel (; born January 6, 1989), professionally known as Nicky Romero or Monocule, is a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer from Amerongen, Utrecht Province. He has worked with, and received support from DJs, such as Tiësto, Fedde l ...

(born 1989) a Dutch musician, DJ, record producer and remixer

Sport

Linda Faber Linda Faber (born 29 February 1960 in Veenendaal, Utrecht) is a former freestyle swimmer from the Netherlands who competed for her native country at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She was eliminated in the preliminaries ...

(born 1960) a former freestyle swimmer, competed at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

Marco van den Berg Marco van den Berg (born 4 June 1965) is a Dutch basketball coach and former player. He was most recently head coach of Gladiators Trier. Professional career Born in Veenendaal, van den Berg played for Donar and Red Giants, both of the Eredivisi ...

(born 1965) a Dutch retired basketball player and current coach *

Harry van der Meer Henricus Antonius Wilhelmus "Harry" van der Meer (born October 30, 1973 in Veenendaal) is a former water polo forward from the Netherlands, who participated in three Summer Olympics. From 1992 on he finished in ninth (Barcelona), tenth (Atlanta, ...

(born 1973) a former water polo forward who participated in three Summer Olympics * Barry Ditewig (born 1977) a Dutch football goalkeeper with over 400 club caps *

Botic van de Zandschulp Botic van de Zandschulp (; born 4 October 1995) is a Dutch professional tennis player. Van de Zandschulp has a career high ranking of world No. 22 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved on 29 August 2022. He is the ...

(born 1995) a tennis player currently ranked first among Dutch men *

Dylan van Baarle Dylan van Baarle (born 21 May 1992) is a Dutch professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Biography Born in Voorburg, van Baarle resides in Veenendaal, Netherlands. Van Baarle is the son of former road- and trac ...

Cyclist

Gallery

File:Veenendaal, christelijk gereformeerde kerk foto5 2012-05-27 11.05.JPG, Veenendaal, reformed church Image:Veenendaal, straatzicht met toren foto3 2012-05-27 11.11.JPG, Veenendaal, tower in the street File:Veenendaal, stellingmolen de Vriendschap RM511611 foto2 2012-05-27 10.51.JPG, Veenendaal, windmill: stellingmolen de Vriendschap File:Veenendaal, de Bernard van Kreelpoort foto3 2012-05-27 11.16.JPG, Veenendaal, 'towngate': de Bernard van Kreelpoort

References

External links

Official websiteHistorical information and photographs
{{Authority control Municipalities of Utrecht (province) Populated places in Utrecht (province)