Visvliet 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 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 is located near the river Lauwers, the border between Friesland and Groningen.

History

In 734, the

Battle of the Boarn The Battle of the Boarn ( fry, Slach oan de Boarn nl, Slag aan de Boorne) was an eighth century battle between the Franks and the Frisians near the mouth of the river Boarn in what is now the Dutch province of Friesland. Battle In 734 a Fran ...

was fought between the

Frisians The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal regions of the Netherlands and northwestern Germany. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, ...

and the Franks, and the river Lauwers became the border between the Province of Friesland and

. Visvliet is located to the east of the river and part of Groningen. It was first mentioned in 1378, and was a fishing village. It was established as an outpost of monastery Jeruzalem in

Gerkesklooster Gerkesklooster ( fry, Gerkeskleaster) is a village in Achtkarspelen in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It forms, together with Stroobos, the double village Gerkesklooster-Stroobos. The double village had a population of around 1144 i ...

. The name means "water with fish". During the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) (Historiography of the Eighty Years' War#Name and periodisation, c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and t ...

, Groningen sided with Spain. In 1581, Friesland, who sided with the Dutch Republic, attacked and conquered the village in the Battle of Visvliet. The ''

heerlijkheid A ''heerlijkheid'' (a Dutch word; pl. ''heerlijkheden''; also called ''heerschap''; Latin: ''Dominium'') was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas in the Dutch-speaking Low Countries before 1800. ...

'' Visvliet was established, and a '' grietman'' (combination of mayor and judge) was appointed for the village. On 22 July 1594, after the Siege of Groningen, Groningen was forced to side with Dutch Republic. Even though Friesland never annexed Visvliet, it was '' de facto'' in control of the ''heerlijkheid''. In 1637, it was bought by the province of Groningen. Due to its presence near the border, a

toll Toll may refer to: Transportation * Toll (fee) a fee charged for the use of a road or waterway ** Road pricing, the modern practice of charging for road use ** Road toll (historic) The road toll was a historical fee charged to travellers and ...

was established. In 1748, there was a riot and the toll was taken. In 1795, the toll was eliminated. In 1811, Visvliet became part of the municipality of

Grijpskerk Grijpskerk is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Westerkwartier, about 18 km west of the city of Groningen. Grijpskerk was a separate municipality until 1990, when it was merged with Zuid ...

. From the 18th until 20th century, the economy was mainly based on brickworks and roof tile factories. In 1840, it was home to 485 people. In 2019, it became part of the municipality of

Road

In 1842, a main road from Leeuwarden to

via Visvliet was constructed (nowadays: ). During the 1960s, it was scheduled to become a motorway. In 1965, Visvliet was bypassed, and a section of 2x2 road with hard shoulders was laid near the village. The Directorate-General for Public Works also purchased all the land necessary for the upgrade of the entire road. In 1975, the motorway plans were cancelled in favour of a route via

Drachten Drachten () is a town in the northern Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Smallingerland, Friesland. It had a population of around 45,186 in January 2017 and is the second largest town in the province of Friesland. History Begin ...

. The 400 metre section remained near Visvliet until 2006 when it was finally downgraded to a single road.

Visvliet railway station

In 1892, a railway station opened at Visvliet on the

Harlingen–Nieuweschans railway The Harlingen–Nieuweschans railway is a railway line in the Netherlands running from the port of Harlingen to Bad Nieuweschans, passing through Leeuwarden and Groningen. The line was opened between 1863 and 1868. It is also known as the ''Staa ...

. During the 1970s and 1980s, all railway stations in the Netherlands were serviced at least once an hour except for Visvliet which was serviced once every two hours. The building was reasonably large, and set in an endless landscape seemingly without human habitation, because the village of Visvliet was hidden from view by a forest. The building was torn down in 1982, the station closed in 1991, and in 1996, the platform which was the last trace of the railway station was demolished.

Bob den Uyl Jacob (Bob) den Uyl (27 March 1930, Rotterdam – 13/14 February, 1992 Rotterdam) was a Dutch writer of mostly short stories. His writing style is mostly ironic and observant. The most prominent theme in his work is the purposelessness and absurd ...

wrote ''Visvliet bestaat namelijk niet'' (Visvliet does not exist) about the railway station, Den Uyl and the former Visvliet station are featured in

Theo Uittenbogaard Theo Uittenbogaard (born Amstelveen, Nieuwer-Amstel, Netherlands, 1946 – 2022) was a Dutch radio & TV-producer, who worked for almost all nationwide public networks in The Netherlands since 1965. His training was on-the-job, since no school or a ...

's documentary ''Aan de Rand van Nederland'' (On the edge of the Netherlands).

Gallery

File:Visvliet Groningen 15 47 27 668000.jpeg, The church of Visvliet File:Visvliet - haven.jpg, The harbour of Visvliet File:HUA-150779-Gezicht op het N.S.-station Visvliet te Visvliet.jpg, Visvliet station (1970) File:Station Visvliet (2010).jpg, Visvliet station (2010)

References

External links

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