Asperen is a small city 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

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

. It is a part of the municipality of

West Betuwe West Betuwe is a municipality in the Netherlands, Dutch province of Gelderland. West Betuwe had 51.948 inhabitants on 1 January 2022. The municipality was formed on January 1, 2019, by the merger of the municipalities Geldermalsen, Neerijnen, Li ...

, and lies about 10 km (6 miles) east of

Gorinchem Gorinchem ( or ), also spelled Gorkum, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of Oc ...

on the river

Linge The Linge is a river in the Betuwe that is 99.8 km long, which makes it one of the longest rivers that flow entirely within the Netherlands. It starts near the village Doornenburg near the German border. A legend tells us that if there wi ...

. It 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 tradition ...

in 1313.

History

In Roman times Asperen was the location of the Roman settlement Caspingium. The name Asperen was first used in 893. The etymology is unknown. Asperen was an ''

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 ...

'' which developed in the Early Middle Ages along the

River. It received

in 1313, and city walls and a circular canal around the city were constructed, however the city never developed. Part of the city wall and the Waterpoort, a city gate, have remained. Asperen Castle was destroyed by the French in 1672. The Dutch Reformed church was built in the 15th century. It was damaged by a city fire in 1896, and restored between 1896 and 1901. There are quite a number of farms within the city centre. Fort Asperen is located outside of the city. It was built in 1845 as part of the

Dutch Water Line The Dutch Waterline ( nl, Hollandsche Waterlinie, modern spelling: ''Hollandse Waterlinie'') was a series of water-based defences conceived by Maurice of Nassau in the early 17th century, and realised by his half brother Frederick Henry. Combine ...

, and is nowadays is use for expositions and cultural activities. Asperen was home to 1,147 people in 1840. Until 1986, Asperen was a separate municipality; until that year, it was located in the province of

South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...

. It is nowadays part of the province of

Notable people

Dirk Willems Dirk Willems (died 16 May 1569; also spelled Durk Willems) was a Dutch martyred Anabaptist who is most famous for escaping from prison but then turning back to rescue his pursuer—who had fallen through thin ice while chasing Willems—to then ...

was a notable resident, as a sixteenth-century

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

Anabaptist Anabaptism (from New Latin language, Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re- ...

– most famous for his act, after escaping from prison, of turning around to rescue his pursuer, who had fallen through thin ice while chasing Willems. This resulted in Willems being recaptured, then tortured and killed for his faith. A number of family surnames and variations originate from this place name, such as Van Asperen, Asperenn, Asperenns, Asperens, Asperene, Asperenes, Asper, Asperren, Aspperen and Aspperens.

Gallery

File:Toren van de Protestantse kerk in Asperen.jpg, Tower of the Protestant church in Asperen in the winter of 2010 File:4147 Asperen, Netherlands - panoramio (4).jpg, Farm in Asperen File:LuchtfotoAsperen1.jpg, Aerial view File:Asperen Dorpspomp.jpg, Village pump

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Gelderland Former municipalities of South Holland West Betuwe