Wildervank is a village in the
Dutch province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
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 located in the municipality of
Veendam, about 3 km south of the centre of Veendam itself. It was founded in 1647 by
Adriaan Geerts Wildervanck
Adriaan Geerts Wildervanck (4 September 1605 – 24 November 1661) was a Dutch businessman and coloniser. In 1643, he lost most of his money when ''De Oevelgunne'' stranded on the Boschplaat with expensive lace. In 1647, he founded the Muntendamm ...
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 in the Wildervankster bog. Wildervank was a separate municipality until 1969, when the area was divided between Veendam and
Stadskanaal.
History
The Wildervankster bog was a
raised bog
Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to flora and fauna that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike fens, are exclusively fed by precipitation ( ombro ...
located to the west of
Oude Pekela.
Adriaan Geerts settled in Oude Pekela to study the exploitation of
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 ...
by the
city 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 ...
. The Wildevankster bog was still untouched, and Geerts wanted to purchase it. He bought the bog in 1647 in order to establish his own peat colony, but needed to procure a
ƒ250,000 mortgage from an Amsterdam merchant.
Geerts would later use the surname Wildervanck.
The colony was moderately successful, however the heavy mortgage payments forced Wildervanck to sell large parts of the colony.
In 1687, the church was finished in Wildervank.
It was named Margaretha Hardenberg Church after the wife of Adriaan Wildervanck.
The parish separated from Oude Pekela in 1702. Wildervank was originally a
linear settlement along the canal.
It would remain an independent municipality until 1969 when it merged into
Veendam except for a small part which was added to
Stadskanaal.
Notable people
*
Jan de Blécourt
The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were o ...
(1860–1925), Dutch olympic sports shooter
*
Gerda Geertens
Gerda Geertens (born 11 August 1955) is a Dutch composer. She was born in Wildervank, and studied music and philosophy in Groningen. In 1981 she began the study of composition with Klaas de Vries at the Rotterdam Conservatory. Her compositions ...
(born 1955), Dutch composer
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Populated places in Groningen (province)
Former municipalities of Groningen (province)
Veendam
1647 establishments in the Dutch Republic