Werkhoven 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

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 ...

. It is a part of the municipality of

Bunnik Bunnik () is a municipality and village in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands. The recorded history of the village dates back nearly 2000 years, when the Romans constructed a fort at Fectio (now Vechten) with a harbour facing the river Rhine, w ...

, and lies about 5 km east of

Houten Houten () is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. Population centres The municipality consists of the following towns: * 't Goy * Houten * Schalkwijk * Tull en 't Waal Houten (town) The main town in the municipality is ...

. Castle Beverweerd is located on the other side of the river. Werkhoven used to be a separate municipality. It merged with Bunnik and

Odijk Odijk is a town in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Bunnik, and lies about south of Zeist. Odijk used to be a separate municipality. It merged with Bunnik and Werkhoven in 1964. Overview The village was first ...

in 1964.

History

It was first mentioned between 918 and 948 as "UUerken due", and means farms near a meandering river. Werkhoven developed as a stretch out ''

esdorp __NOTOC__ An ''Angerdorf'' (plural: ''Angerdörfer'') is a type of village that is characterised by the houses and farmsteads being laid out around a central grassed area, the ''anger'' (from the Old High German ''angar'' =pasture or grassy place ...

'' along the Achter Rijn. A church has existed since the mid-9th century. The current church dates from the 13th century and was extensively modified in 1830. In 1840, Werkhoven was home to 811 people. Castle Beverweerd was built on the other side of the river, and was first noted in 1274 when

Gijsbrecht IV of Amstel Gijsbrecht IV of Amstel or Gijsbrecht IV van Amstel ( – ) was a powerful lord in the medieval County of Holland and a member of the Van Aemstel family. His territory was Amstelland, and his son was . Life His family probably originated from ...

, the

Count of Holland The counts of Holland ruled over the County of Holland in the Low Countries between the 10th and the 16th century. House of Holland The first count of Holland, Dirk I, was the son or foster-son of Gerolf, Count in Frisia (Dijkstra suggests th ...

attacked Utrecht, and the

Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht The Bishopric of Utrecht ( nl, Sticht Utrecht) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries, in the present-day Netherlands. From 1024 to 1528, as one of the prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire, it w ...

had to flee. The castle was extended and modified multiple times during its history. In 1958, the castle was sold to the

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

to be used as a school. The school was later renamed Beverweert International School and operated until 1997. In 2004, the castle was squatted. Since 2017, it is owned by a real estate company. The

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

Rijn en Weert was built in 1882. It was a replacement of the wind mill at the castle where a wind mill had been known to exist since 1395. In 1921, an electro motor was installed and the wind mill was reduced to its base. In 1993, the wind mill was restored and returned to active service in 1994.

Born in Werkhoven

* Coby van Baalen (*1957), Dutch equestrian. * Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest (1739–1801), Dutch merchant and diplomat. *

John Oostrom John Martin Oostrom (born September 2, 1930) is a former Canadian business executive and parliamentarian. He was the first Dutch-born Canadian elected to the House of Commons of Canada. Life Oostrom was the eldest of thirteen children and imm ...

, (born September 2, 1930), a former business executive and Canadian parliamentarian. He was the first Dutch-born Canadian elected to the Canadian House of Commons

Pictures

File:Spilman werkoven.jpg, Werkhoven in an engraving by

Hendrik Spilman Hendrik Spilman (1721, Amsterdam – 1784, Haarlem), was an 18th-century painter and engraver from the Northern Netherlands. Biography According to the RKD he spent his working life in Haarlem, where he enrolled in 1742 as a member of the H ...

, 1773 File:Beverweerd.jpg, Castle Beverweerd File:WerrekhoôveKerk.jpg, Village church File:Werkhoven, de RK kerk OLV Maria Hemelvaart GM 0312-WN056 IMG 6478 2020-07-12 13.09.jpg, Catholic church File:Werrekho%C3%B4veBrink.jpg, De Brink File:Kaart_Werkhoven_1860-1870.gif, Werkhoven ca. 1865 File:Skyline_Werkhoven.jpg, Skyline Werkhoven, 2008 File:Werkhoven, watertoren foto6 2012-05-29 10.54.JPG, Watertower

References

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places in Utrecht (province) Former municipalities of Utrecht (province) Bunnik