Ter Apel (;
Gronings
Gronings (; gos, Grunnegs or Grönnegs), is a collective name for some Friso-Saxon dialects spoken in the province of Groningen and around the Groningen border in Drenthe and Friesland. Gronings and the strongly related varieties in East ...
: ''Troapel'') is a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...
with a population of 8,866 residents in the municipality
Westerwolde in the northern
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
Groningen in the region
Westerwolde. The town lies on the stream
Ruiten Aa, which has the valley that together with the Ter Apeler forest belongs to the national network of nature reserves, the ''
Ecologische Hoofdstructuur''. An accommodation centre for
refugees is located at Ter Apel, functioning as a "departure centre" for rejected refugees and a registration point, operated by the ''
Centraal Orgaan opvang Asielzoekers''. Ter Apel lies on the roads N366, N976 and N391. It forms the southern point of the border between Groningen and
Drenthe, the ''
Semslinie''.
History
The town was
founded at a monastery, which from the thirteenth century was a chief work of the ''
Premonstratensians'' and from 1465 an institution of the
Order of the Holy Cross. It was closed in 1594 due to the
Protestant Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...
. In 1619 ownership of Westerwolde passed to the city of
Groningen, with the monastery and its grounds included. Over time the city planted forests on these grounds. In 1931-1933 the remaining parts of the monastery were restored. In 1976 ownership of the monastery and the forests passed to the state forest managers, ''
Staatsbosbeheer
Staatsbosbeheer, founded in 1899, is a Dutch government organization for forestry and the management of nature reserves.
Staatsbosbeheer currently oversees over 250,000 hectares of land in the Netherlands. Usually this land is open to the public ...
''. The agricultural land was also purchased after 1976.
Since the 19th century, built-up strips have also formed due to
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 efficient ...
production from
bogs along the ''Stads-Ter Apel''
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...
in the direction of
Stadskanaal
Stadskanaal () is a town and municipality with a population of 32,715 in the province of Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. It was named after the canal Stadskanaal.
From 1800 until 1900 this area was ideal for its peat mining, and so ...
, the ''Weerdingermond'' in the direction of
Nieuw-Weerdinge, and in the direction of
Emmer-Compascuum
Emmer-Compascuum is a village in the Netherlands and is part of the Emmen municipality in Drenthe.
Emmer-Compascuum is located in the Bourtange moor between Germany and the Netherlands. It was originally a '' compascuum'' (common pasture). In 18 ...
. In 1916 the
Ruiten Aa canal was completed, which as of 2004 is again navigable for recreational boating. In the first half of the 20th century it was a hub for the rail and tram routes operated by the ''
Eerste Drentsche Stoomtramweg Maatschappij'' (EDS), the ''
Eerste Groninger Tramway-Maatschappij'' (EGTM), the ''
Dedemsvaartsche Stoomtramweg-Maatschappij'' (DSM), the ''
Stoomtramweg-Maatschappij Oostelijk Groningen'' (OG), and the ''
Groningsch-Drentsche Spoorweg Maatschappij'' (Stadskanaal - Ter_Apel - national border) (STAR). Of these rail lines, in 2005 the ''
aardenbaan'' in the forests at Ter Apel is still recognisable.
Image:Klooster Ter Apel(4).jpg, Ter Apel Monastery
Image:Klooster Ter Apel(3).jpg, Ter Apel Monastery
Image:Ter Apel Joods Monument 01.JPG, Jewish monument
References
External links
Ter Apel digital
{{Authority control
Populated places in Groningen (province)
Westerwolde (municipality)