Wijk bij Duurstede () 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 ...

and a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in the central

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 ...

Population centres

* Cothen * Langbroek *Wijk bij Duurstede

Topography

''Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Wijk bij Duurstede, 2013.''

City

The city (population as of 2007: 23,377) is located on the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

. At Wijk bij Duurstede, the Kromme Rijn (Crooked Rhine) branches off, and the main branch is called Lek River downstream from Wijk bij Duurstede. The name 'Wijk bij Duurstede' means 'Neighbourhood by Duurstede'. Duurstede is the name of the nearby castle/ruin, also called

Dorestad Dorestad (''Dorestat, Duristat'') was an early medieval emporium, located in the southeast of the province of Utrecht in the Netherlands, close to the modern-day town of Wijk bij Duurstede. It flourished during the 8th to early 9th centuries, ...

, where the bishop of Utrecht used to live. Wijk bij Duurstede is the former location of

, an important Frisian trade settlement during Carolingian times that was pillaged around 850 by the

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

. Wijk bij Duurstede has the only drive-through wind mill in the world. The mill is often confused with the mill that was made famous by

Ruisdael Ruisdael or Ruysdael is a Dutch surname. Notable persons with that name include: * Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael ( 1629–1682), Dutch Golden Age landscape painter, best-known of his family * Salomon van Ruysdael ( 1602–1670), Dutch Golden Age ...

's 1670 painting ''The windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede'', but that mill no longer exists (its foundations can still be seen a couple of blocks away from the remaining mill). At the market place of Wijk bij Duurstede is one of the few church towers in the Netherlands with a flat roof, as built because the bishop could not afford to build a spire. Inside the tower a picture displays the planned construction of the tower. The tower was supposed to become higher than the Domtoren in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

. Wijk bij Duurstede received

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

in 1300.

Notable people

Rorik of Dorestad Rorik (''Roricus, Rorichus''; Old Norse ''HrœrekR'', c. 810 – c. 880) was a Danish Viking, who ruled over parts of Friesland between 841 and 873, conquering Dorestad and Utrecht in 850. Rorik swore allegiance to Louis the German in 873 ...

(ca.810– ca.880) Danish Viking who ruled over parts of

Frisia Frisia is a cross-border cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. The region is traditionally inhabited by the Frisians, a West G ...

841-873 *

Dirck van Baburen Dirck Jaspersz. van Baburen (c. 1595 – 21 February 1624) was a Dutch painter and one of the Utrecht Caravaggisti. Biography Dirck van Baburen was probably born in Wijk bij Duurstede, but his family moved to Utrecht when he was still young ...

(ca.1595–1624) painter of the Utrecht School * Thomas van Rhee (1634–1701) colonial administrator, 13th Governor of Dutch Ceylon *

Dirk Fock Dirk Fock (19 June 1858 – 17 October 1941) was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the defunct Liberal State Party (LSP) now merged into the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). He served as Governor of Suriname (1908–1911), Speake ...

(1858–1941) politician and diplomat,

Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies The governor-general of the Dutch East Indies ( nl, gouverneur-generaal van Nederlands Indië) represented Netherlands, Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, indep ...

1921–1926 * Gerrit Achterberg (1905–1962) poet * Everhardus Jacobus Ariëns (1918–2002) pharmacologist and academic * Johannes Alphonsus Huisman (1919-2003), philologist * Dick Kooijman (born 1972) footballer with 322 club caps

Gallery

Image:Wijk bij Duurstede, straatzicht naar kerktoren RM39695 foto5 2012-05-29 11.52.jpg, Wijk bij Duurstede, street to the churchtower File:De stuw in de rivier de Lek bij Hagestein.jpg, De stuw in de rivier de Lek bij Hagestein File:Wijk bij Duurstede, molen Rijn en Lek in straatzicht foto3 2012-05-29 12.34.JPG, Wijk bij Duurstede, windmill (molen Rijn en Lek) in the street File:1209 Wijk bij Duurstede 173.JPG, Wijk bij Duurstede File:Wijk bij Duurstede, kasteel Duurstede RM454308 IMG 9213 2019-04-19 15.51.jpg, Castle: kasteel Duurstede File:Neder-Rijn bij Wijk bij Duurstede.jpg, Neder-Rijn bij Wijk bij Duurstede File:Hoog water in de Stadshaven in Wijk bij Duurstede.jpg, Wijk bij Duurstede, water in de Stadshaven File:Langbroek Bebouwde Brug Cor Litjens.jpg, Langbroek Bebouwde Brug Cor Litjens

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wijk Bij Duurstede Municipalities of Utrecht (province) Populated places in Utrecht (province)