Wirdum () is a village in the 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 ...

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 ...

. It is situated close to the Damsterdiep - a channel connecting the city of Groningen to

Delfzijl Delfzijl (; gos, Delfsiel) is a city and former municipality with a population of 25,651 in the province of Groningen (province), Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. Delfzijl was a sluice between the Delf (canal), Delf and the Ems (riv ...

- on two

artificial dwelling hill A ''terp'', also known as a ''wierde, woerd, warf, warft, werf, werve, wurt'' or ''værft'', is an artificial dwelling mound found on the North European Plain that has been created to provide safe ground during storm surges, high tides and ...

s, known locally as 'Wierden'. As of 2021, Wirdum had a population of 365.

Church

Like almost every village in Groningen, Wirdum, too, has a historical church around which the village is centred. The church was originally built in the 13th century, although it has gone through some changes such as the removal of the church tower in favour of a

Flèche Flèche or Fleche may refer to: *Flèche (architecture), a type of church spire *Flèche (cycling), a team cycling competition *Flèche (fencing), an aggressive offensive fencing technique *Flèche (fortification) A flèche ( Fr. for "arrow") is ...

in 1878.

Damsterdiep

The is a channel connecting the city of Groningen to the coastal town of Delfzijl, allowing access to the Dutch most eastern part of the

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( nl, Waddenzee ; german: Wattenmeer; nds, Wattensee or ; da, Vadehavet; fy, Waadsee, longname=yes; frr, di Heef) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern conti ...

, the

Eems In DOS memory management, expanded memory is a system of bank switching that provided additional memory to DOS programs beyond the limit of conventional memory (640 KiB). ''Expanded memory'' is an umbrella term for several incompatible techn ...

. Historically the channel can be divided into two parts at the village of Ten Post, approximately 5 km south-west of Wirdum. The oldest north-eastern part was constructed before the year 1000 and was directly connected to the sea up until the 14th century. Because of this the course of the channel was affected by tidal changes resulting in a somewhat meandering layout. The south-western part of the channel, having been constructed much later, was not exposed to such influences allowing it to maintain its original straight course. Until the construction of the far wider and deeper Eemskanaal in the 19th century, the Damsterdiep was an important trade route.

Rusthoven and Ekenstein

Between

Appingedam Appingedam (; gos, n Daam) is a city and former municipality in the northeastern Netherlands. Although there is no certainty as to the exact age of Appingedam, historical research demonstrates that the place in which the city would eventually b ...

and Wirdum lie the bordering estates of Rusthoven and Ekenstein, the latter of which currently belongs to the municipality of

. Both of the estates are characterised by a manor-like building known as a

Borg (castle) A borg (; Gronings: ''börg'') is a former stronghold or villa in the province of Groningen, Netherlands. Borgs used to belong to noblemen or prominent citizens. A comparable building in the neighboring province of Friesland is called a stin ...

, built in 1648 (Ekenstein) and 1686 (Rusthoven). The estates, lying next to the Damsterdiep, offered easy trade access and a large

brickyard A brickyard or brickfield is a place or yard where bricks are made, fired, and stored, or sometimes sold or otherwise distributed from. Brick makers work in a brick yard. A brick yard may be constructed near natural sources of clay or on o ...

was built in the early 19th century, the ruins of which - including an iconic 30-metre chimney - still stand. Although the 'Borgen' are privately owned, the interconnected estate is open to the public as a park.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places in Groningen (province) Eemsdelta