Elst is a village in the central

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. It is located in the municipality of

Rhenen Rhenen () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the central Netherlands. The municipality also includes the villages of Achterberg, and Elst (Utrecht), Elst. The town lies at a geographically interesting location, n ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

, about 5 km southwest of

Veenendaal Veenendaal () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a town in central Netherlands, located in the province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. Veenendaal is the only population centre within its administrative borders. The municipal ...

. Until 1 January 2006, the western tip of the village was in the municipality of

Amerongen Amerongen () is a town in the Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of Utrechtse Heuvelrug in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Province of Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands, on the border of the Utrecht Hill Ridge. It lies ab ...

. The village was first mentioned in 1448 as "op Elscher maelstat", and means "place where

alder Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ex ...

trees grow". Elst developed into a settlement on the southern flank of a hill and became a

linear settlement A linear settlement is a (normally small to medium-sized) settlement or group of buildings that is formed in a long line. Many of these settlements are formed along a transport route, such as a road, river, or canal. Others form due to physical r ...

along the

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 ...

road. In 1819, a little church was built. The economy during the 19th century was mainly based on the growth of

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

plants. In 1840, Elst was home to 631 people. The

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

't Wissel was built in 1855. The wind mill was in operation until 1930. Between 1980 and 1981, it was restored and functioned for several bakeries, but ran into technical difficulties. In 2005, it was repaired and occasionally produces

fodder Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food ...

Gallery

File:Neder Rijn bij Elst (Utr).jpg, Ferry on Rhine, near Elst File:Elst-Utrecht, korenmolen 't Wissel RM12312 IMG 9180 2019-04-19 14.36.jpg, Windmill: korenmolen 't Wissel File:Elst-Utr, landgoed De Tangh IMG 6570 2020-07-12 16.46.jpg, Country house De Tangh

References

Populated places in Utrecht (province) Rhenen {{Utrecht-geo-stub