Elst is a town in the municipality of
Overbetuwe in the
Dutch province of
Gelderland
Gelderland ( , ), also known as Guelders ( ) in English, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Nethe ...
. It is situated in the
Betuwe, between the cities of
Arnhem
Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...
and
Nijmegen. In January 2022 the town had 22,509 inhabitants.
Elst is known for its
Roman temples, which are situated under St Martin's (or the St
Werenfried) church. Elst was a separate municipality until 2001, when it became a part of Overbetuwe.
''
Elstar'' is an apple cultivar that was developed in Elst in the 1950s.
History
A number of archeological finds have been made in Elst. In 1947, while repairing war damage, the remains of two Roman temples were discovered under St Martin's Church, including one of the largest found north of the Alps. Further Roman buildings have since been found in the town, as have prehistoric items.
The missionary Saint
Werenfried of Elst, was buried in Elst in circa 780. In the middle ages his tomb attracted pilgrims, as his
intercession was believed to cure disorders, especially those related to
arthritis.
In September 1944, Elst was the scene of fighting between Allied and German troops during
Operation Market Garden. During this, the tower of St Martin's Church was used as an observation post, and was largely destroyed by shelling. The church was rebuilt after the war.
The municipality of Elst has existed since 1812. In January 2001 it became a part of the new municipality of Overbetuwe, when it merged with of
Heteren and
Valburg. Since then, Elst has expanded with the building of new housing and industrial estates.
H. J. Heinz Company's sauce factory for the European market is located in Elst. In 2006
Heinz
The Kraft Heinz Foods Company, formerly the H. J. Heinz Company and commonly known as Heinz (), is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. ...
moved production of
HP Sauce here from
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, England. Seen as a traditional British sauce, the decision received adverse publicity in the UK at the time.
Education
Elst is home to three
high schools: Het Westeraam, Lyceum and Over Betuwe College Elst (OBC Elst).
Sports
There are several
sports clubs in Elst, including:
*Spero (
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
)
*BCE (badminton)
*Elistha (Football)
*ETV (tennis)
*EZ & PC (
swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...
)
*Gaviiformes (scuba diving)
*Gemini (
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
)
*HCOB (
field hockey
Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...
)
*Unlimited (
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
)
*Budo vereniging (martial arts)
The Linge near Elst
The river
Linge flows just north of Elst.
File:Elst, de Linge vanaf de Welsh Guardsbrug IMG 2607 2019-09-21 19.22.jpg, The Linge from the Welsh Guardsbrug
File:Bij Elst, ochtendtzicht op de Linge in de herfst IMG 2936 2019-11-30 10.11.jpg, The Linge in the autumn
File:Tussen Elst en Arnhem, de Linge bij de stuw IMG 8072 2021-02-13 09.34.jpg, The Linge in the winter
File:Elst, viaduct over de spoorlijn bij de weg naar Arnhem IMG 8742 2021-04-01 20.04.jpg, The Linge near the viaduct across the railway
File:Elst, de Linge bij de 1e Weteringswal IMG 2426 2019-09-15 07.41.jpg, The Linge near the first Weteringswal
File:Elst, boerderij aan de 2e Weteringswal IMG 8443 2021-03-24 08.27.jpg, The Linge at the second Weteringswal
File:Bij Elst, de Linge bij Romeins Lint Oost in de mist IMG 2875 2019-11-24 10.27.jpg, The Linge in the fog near Romeins Lint Oost
File:Bij Elst, de Linge vanaf de Raaijebrug in de mist IMG 2843 2019-11-24 09.32.jpg, The Linge from the bridge (the Raaijebrug)
File:Elst, de Linge bij de Raaijebrug IMG 9472 2019-05-12 16.07.jpg, The Linge near the bridge (the Raaijebrug)
File:Elst, de Linge vanaf de Langstraatbrug IMG 9481 2019-05-12 16.23.jpg, The Linge from the bridge (the Langstraatbrug)
People born in Elst
*
Pierre Kartner (1935–2022), singer and composer
*
Frits Kuipers (1899–1943), footballer
*
Paul Kuypers (1939–1971), agricultural scientist
*
Henk "Henkie" Leeuwis (1945–2022), singer
*
Jeffrey Leiwakabessy (born 1981), footballer
*
Dirk Proper (born 2002), footballer
*
Hans Weijs (born 1986), rally driver
*
Peter J. Williamson (1823–1907), architect, American Civil War adjutant to General William T. Sherman
*
Jan Zwartkruis (1925–2013), footballer
Transportation
*
Elst railway station
References
{{Coord, 51, 54, 56, N, 5, 50, 16, E, display=title, region:NL_source:nlwiki
Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2001
Populated places in Gelderland
Former municipalities of Gelderland
Overbetuwe