Vijfheerenlanden (), literally "lands of five Lords", 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. The municipality was created on 1 January 2019 through the merger of the former municipalities of

Vianen Vianen () is a city and a former municipality in the central Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It is located south of the Lek River. Before 2002 it was part of the province of South Holland. Vianen is made up of a historic town centre tha ...

(Utrecht),

Leerdam Leerdam () is a city and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. The municipality was merged with the municipalities of Vianen and Zederik on 1 January 2019. The name of the new municipality is Vijfheerenlande ...

and

Zederik Zederik () is a former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covered an area of of which is water. It had a population of in . The municipality of Zederik was formed on January 1, 1986, thr ...

(both

South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...

). Vijfheerenlanden has 59,150 inhabitants on 1 January 2022. Vijfheerenlanden is also the name of an area in the provinces of Utrecht (since 2002) and South Holland. The area also borders on two other Dutch provinces:

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

to the east, and

North Brabant North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the we ...

to the south. On its western border is the

Alblasserwaard The Alblasserwaard () is a polder in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is mainly known for the windmills of Kinderdijk, located near the village of Kinderdijk in the polder's northwestern part. History The first human inhabitan ...

, an area in South Holland, and on its eastern border the , an area in Gelderland. The largest city of Vijfheerenlanden is Vianen, which is a major node in the Dutch network of roads and rivers. The second largest city is Leerdam. The borders on the north and south of the area are formed by rivers, de

Lek Lek or LEK may refer to: * Lek mating, mating in a lek, a type of animal territory in which males of a species gather * Albanian lek, the currency of Albania * Lek (magazine), a Norwegian softcore pornographic magazine * Lek (pharmaceutical comp ...

in the north and the

Waal WAAL (99.1 FM "The Whale") is a commercial radio station licensed to Binghamton, New York. It airs a classic rock radio format and is owned by Townsquare Media. WAAL is the oldest FM radio station in the Binghamton metropolitan area. It is an ...

the south, the east border is formed by the line

Haaften Haaften is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland, on the northern shore of the river Waal, about opposite Zaltbommel. It is a part of the municipality of West Betuwe, and lies about 25 km south of Utrecht. From 1818 to 1977 Haaften wa ...

–

Rhenoy Rhenoy is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of West Betuwe, and is situated about 13 km east of Gorinchem, between Geldermalsen and Leerdam. History It was first mentioned in 1265 as tot Rynoey ...

–

Everdingen Everdingen is a former municipality in the Netherlands. Together with Zijderveld and Hagestein, it had been part of Vianen municipality since 1986. Since 2019 it is a part of the municipality of Vijfheerenlanden. It enjoys a strategic position o ...

, and the west border is formed by the line Ameide –

Meerkerk Meerkerk is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Vijfheerenlanden, and lies about 9 km north of Gorinchem. In 2001, the village of Meerkerk had 2281 inhabitants. The built-up area of the village was ...

–

Arkel Arkel is a town in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. A part of the municipality of Molenlanden, it lies about 3 km north of Gorinchem. Arkel is a former municipality; in 1986 it became part of Giessenlanden. In 2017, the village o ...

. The area takes its name from the

Lords of Arkel The Land van Arkel was a fief of the Counts of Holland, and was managed by the Lords of Arkel until 1412. The territory was bordered by the river Merwede on the south, and the river Linge on the east. The northern border might have reached as far a ...

, of Ter Leede, of Hagestein, of Everdingen, dike builders from Haaften, and the

Van Brederode The Lords of Van Brederode (''Heeren van Brederode'') were a noble family from Holland who played an important role during the Middle Ages and the Early modern period. The family had a high noble rank and hold the titles ''Count of Brederode'', ...

s from Vianen, who together, in 1284, took measures to protect the area against the threat of water from the Geldersche

Betuwe Batavia (; , ) is a historical and geographical region in the Netherlands, forming large fertile islands in the river delta formed by the waters of the Rhine (Dutch: ''Rijn'') and Meuse (Dutch: ''Maas'') rivers. During the Roman empire, it was an ...

. The most eastern village in Vijfheerenlanden is Haaften, which was the village that was threatened the most by the water, and the villagers there started to heighten the dikes. Historische kaart Vijfheerenlanden (16e eeuw)

Historische kaart Vijfheerenlanden (16e eeuw)

Population centers

* Ameide *

Tienhoven aan de Lek Tienhoven is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Vijfheerenlanden, and lies about 10 km southwest of IJsselstein. Tienhoven was a separate municipality in the province of South Holland between 181 ...

References

External links

*
Official Website
Municipalities of Utrecht (province) Municipalities of the Netherlands established in 2019 Regions of the Netherlands Regions of Utrecht (province) Regions of South Holland {{Utrecht-geo-stub