Moerdijk () 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

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

in the South of 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 ...

, in the province of

North Brabant North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to t ...

History

The municipality of Moerdijk was founded in 1997 following the merger of the municipalities of

Fijnaart en Heijningen Fijnaart en Heijningen is a former municipality in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It covered the villages of Fijnaart and Heijningen. Fijnaart en Heijningen was a separate municipality until 1997, when it was merged with Zevenbergen.Zevenb ...

Klundert Klundert is a city in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located close to the Hollands Diep, about 3 km northwest of Zevenbergen. It received city rights in 1357. History The current name was first mentioned in 1537 as "die clunder ...

Standdaarbuiten Standdaarbuiten is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant located in the municipality of Moerdijk, about 9 km northeast of Roosendaal. History The village was first mentioned in 1461 as "tgors Standerbuyten", and means "beyond th ...

Willemstad Willemstad ( , ; ; en, William Town, italic=yes) is the capital city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was the capital of the Netherlands Antilles pr ...

, and Zevenbergen. At that time the new municipality was called Zevenbergen. The name changed to Moerdijk on 1 April 1998. * List of mayors of Moerdijk

Population centres

Topography

''Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Moerdijk, June 2015''

The village of Moerdijk

The village of Moerdijk is one of the smaller villages of the municipality. Population as of 2002 is 1,205. ''Moerdijk'' is however a well-known name in the Netherlands, because of the large Moerdijk industrial area, with a large power plant, and because of the well-known

Moerdijk bridges The Moerdijk bridges in the Netherlands are bridges that connect the Island of Dordrecht with the Dutch province of North Brabant (''Noord-Brabant'') across the ''Hollands Diep''. The first bridge was built at the end of the 19th century, and w ...

(highway and railway bridges) across the Hollands Diep. This was the last bridge available for the retreat from the vital Scheldt Estuary of the rapidly collapsing German defences near Antwerp in World War II. (Noteworthy as well, the Moerdijk bridges were one of the first targets of guided, or "smart bombs"- by American heavy bombers in late 1944.) Moerdijk made headlines on January 5, 2011, because of a large fire at Chemie-Pack (a firm processing numerous chemicals) causing a large cloud of toxic smoke to blow over the surrounding area, mostly to the north of Moerdijk. ''Above the Moerdijk'' (meaning "north of Moerdijk") is used as an expression in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and the southern parts of the Netherlands to mean "in the Netherlands" or "in Holland". ''Below the Moerdijk'' (meaning "south of Moerdijk" or "below the major rivers") is also a Dutch expression for the Catholic provinces North Brabant and Limburg. This expression is used particularly around Mardi Gras in relation to the region's traditional carnival culture, which (with a few local exceptions) does not exist north of the major rivers. ''Across the Moerdijk'' is used by either party to mean the other one.

Zevenbergen

Zevenbergen is the largest town of the municipality (population : 14,006). It is located about 10 km northwest of Breda. It received city rights in 1427. Zevenbergen has a

train station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing s ...

with connections to

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

and

Roosendaal Roosendaal () is both a city and a municipality in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. Towns/villages of the municipality * Roosendaal (population: 66,760) * Wouw (4,920) * Heerle (1,900) * Nispen (1,440) * Wouwse P ...

Transport

Close to Hollands Diep, the area is now used for industrial movements by water, with great inland access as well the access into the North Sea, transport company Van der Vlist have their own port located in the area, and many other transport companies have nearby offices.

Notable people

* Emanuel Sweert (1552 in Zevenbergen – 1612) a Dutch painter and nurseryman *

François Vranck François Vranck (alternative spellings Vrancke, Vrancken, Franchois Francken), ( Zevenbergen, 1555? – The Hague, 11 October 1617) was a Dutch lawyer and statesman who played an important role in the founding of the Dutch Republic. Family life V ...

(ca. 1555 in Zevenbergen – 1617) a Dutch lawyer and statesman, helped found the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

* Hendrick Berckman (1629 in Klundert – 1679) a Dutch Golden Age painter * Jaap Burger (1904 in Willemstad – 1986) a Dutch politician *

Leo Riemens Leonardus Antony Marinus Riemens (3 December 1910 – 3 April 1985) was a Dutch musicologist and cultural journalist. He wrote a book about Maria Callas, and together with Karl-Josef Kutsch began a reference book about opera singers in 1962, which ...

(1910 in Zevenbergen – 1985) a Dutch musicologist and cultural journalist * Fons van der Stee (1928 in Zevenbergen – 1999) a Dutch politician * Ad Bax (born 1956 in Zevenbergen) a Dutch-American molecular biophysicist * Frans Bauer (born 1973 in Roosendaal) a Dutch singer of '' levenslied'' *

O'G3NE OG3NE ( ) is a Dutch three-piece music group. The group is made up of sisters Lisa, Amy, and Shelley Vol, the latter two of the three being fraternal twins. In 2007, they represented the Netherlands in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007 wit ...

(formed 2007 in Fijnaart) a Dutch three-piece girl group

Sport

Piet van der Horst Petrus "Piet" Michaelis van der Horst (25 October 1903 – 18 February 1983) was a Dutch racing cyclist who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics. He won the silver medal as part of the Dutch pursuit team. See also * List of Dutch Olympic ...

(1903 in Klundert – 1983) a Dutch racing cyclist, silver medallist at the 1928 Summer Olympics *

Nico van Gageldonk Nico van Gageldonk (26 May 1913 – 19 May 1995) was a Dutch cycle sport, cyclist. He competed in the Cycling at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's individual road race, individual and Cycling at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's team road ...

(1913 in Klundert – 1995) a Dutch cyclist, competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics * Angelique Seriese (born 1968 in Zevenbergen) a former Dutch judoka, gold medallist at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

Gallery

File:59. Vue de Willemsdorp, et du passage du Moerdyk pendant l'hiver.jpg, Vue de Willemsdorp, et du passage du Moerdyk File:Verdediging van de schans of fort Noordam bij Zevenbergen in 1590 door het Staatse leger onder Matthijs Helt tegen het Spaanse leger onder graaf Karel van Mansfeld (Bartholomeus Willemsz. Dolendo).jpg, Defense of the Fort Noordam in 1590 against the Spanish army File:Afbeelding Helwijk 1723.jpg, Landmeterskaart van de polder van West Heijningen, 1723

References

External links

* * Municipalities of North Brabant Populated places in North Brabant Municipalities of the Netherlands established in 1998 {{NorthBrabant-geo-stub