Veendam () is 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 ...

and

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 ...

with a population of 27,752 in the province of

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of t ...

in the northeast 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 ...

. Veendam was established in 1648 as a

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and ...

colony by

Adriaan Geerts Wildervanck Adriaan Geerts Wildervanck (4 September 1605 – 24 November 1661) was a Dutch businessman and coloniser. In 1643, he lost most of his money when ''De Oevelgunne'' stranded on the Boschplaat with expensive lace. In 1647, he founded the Muntendamm ...

. A

Holland America Line Holland America Line is an American-owned cruise line, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. Holland America Line was founded in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and from 1873 to 1989, it operated ...

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...

, the MS ''Veendam'', is named after the city. The municipality includes

Westerdiepsterdallen Westerdiepsterdallen is a hamlet, near Groningen. For a long time, it only had 1 inhabitant, when one of the houses was empty. By only having 1 inhabitant, it made it to the 1984 Guinness Book of Records. The hamlet has grown to 5 people. Histor ...

, the smallest town in the Netherlands.

Geography

The population centres in the municipality are: * Bareveld *

Borgercompagnie Borgercompagnie is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It consists of a single street with farms and houses on both sides. The village is about 7 km long. The north end lies close to Sappemeer in the municipality of Midden-Groninge ...

* Kibbelgaarn * Korte Akkers * Numero Dertien * Ommelanderwijk * Tripscompagnie * Veendam *

Wildervank Wildervank is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Veendam, about 3 km south of the centre of Veendam itself. It was founded in 1647 by Adriaan Geerts Wildervanck as a peat colony in the Wilderva ...

* Wildervanksterdallen * Zuidwending

International relations

Veendam has two sister cities:

Sports

Cycling

Veendam was the start place of stage 4b at the

2012 Energiewacht Tour The 2012 Energiewacht Tour was the second edition of the Energiewacht Tour women's cycling stage race. It was rated by the UCI as category 2.2, and was held between 4 and 8 April 2012 in the Netherlands. The tour was won by Ina-Yoko Teutenberg a ...

and the finish place of stage 2 at the

2013 Energiewacht Tour The 2013 Energiewacht Tour is the third edition of the Energiewacht Tour women's cycling stage race. It is rated by the UCI as category 2.2, and is held between 3 and 7 April 2013 in the Netherlands. Twenty-four teams of 6 riders take part. There ...

Sport clubs

* SC Veendam, former soccer club * Flash Veendam, volleyball club * NNZC Veendam, gliding clubNNZC Veendam - Gliding club
/ref>

Notable residents

* Hendrik de Cock (1801–1842) a Dutch minister responsible for the 1834 Dutch Reformed Church split * Anthony Winkler Prins (1817 in Voorst – 1908) a Dutch writer, chief editor of the '' Winkler Prins'' encyclopedia. * Herman Mees (1880–1964) was a Dutch artist, portrait painter, watercolorist and academic *

Herman Johannes Lam Herman Johannes Lam (3 January 1892 in Veendam – 15 February 1977 in Leiden) was a Dutch botanist. Lam studied at Utrecht University, where he was awarded a Doctor of Biology in 1919. Lam was the appointed the director of the '' Rijksherbari ...

(1892–1977) a Dutch botanist * Addeke Hendrik Boerma (1912–1992) the first Executive Director of the

World Food Programme The World Food Programme; it, Programma alimentare mondiale; es, Programa Mundial de Alimentos; ar, برنامج الأغذية العالمي, translit=barnamaj al'aghdhiat alealami; russian: Всемирная продовольствен� ...

1962-1967 *

Gerda Geertens Gerda Geertens (born 11 August 1955) is a Dutch composer. She was born in Wildervank, and studied music and philosophy in Groningen. In 1981 she began the study of composition with Klaas de Vries at the Rotterdam Conservatory. Her compositions inc ...

(born 1955 in Wildervank) a Dutch composer

Sport

Bert Romp Berend "Bert" Romp (4 November 1958 – 4 October 2018) was a Dutch equestrian and Olympic champion in the sport. He won a gold medal in show jumping with the Dutch team at the 1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Ol� ...

(1958–2018) a Dutch equestrian, gold medallist at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

* Janette Bouman (born 1964) a Dutch-born Kazakhstani dressage rider * Rick Slor (born 1971) a retired professional footballer with 509 club caps *

Anneke Venema Anneke Venema (born 19 January 1971) is a retired rower from the Netherlands. She won a silver medal in the women's eight with coxswain in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States ...

(born 1971) a retired rower, silver medallist at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

* Linda Moes (born 1971) a former breaststroke swimmer, competed 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 ...

* Peter Windt (born 1973) a Dutch former field hockey player *

Renate Groenewold Renate Titzia Groenewold (born 8 October 1976) is a Dutch former long track speed skater and road bicycle racer. Groenewold has won several Dutch Championships. In 1999, 2002 and 2003 she won the Dutch allround championship. At the European ...

(born 1976) a Dutch former long track speed skater, silver medallist at both the

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

and the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second ...

Henk Grol Hindrik Harmannus Arnoldus "Henk" Grol (born 14 April 1985 in Veendam) is a retired Dutch judoka. Judo career Grol competed in the 2007 European Judo Championships in Belgrade, Serbia in the men's under 90 kg, as a replacement for Mark Hu ...

(born 1985 in Winschoten) a Dutch judoka, bronze medallist at both the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

* Jeroen Zoet (born 1991) a Dutch professional football goalkeeper with over 250 club caps

Topography

References

External links

* Municipalities of Groningen (province) Populated places in Groningen (province) 1648 establishments in the Dutch Republic {{Groningen-geo-stub