Spijk is a village in the eastern
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
Zevenaar,
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 ...
, near the border with
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
.
Near Spijk, the
Rhine
The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
crosses the
border
Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...
into the Netherlands.
History
The village was first mentioned in 908 as Herispich, and means
promontory
A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the s ...
of either the lord or army.
Spijk developed into a long dike village along the
Rhine
The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
. The tower of the Dutch Reformed Church dates from around 1250 and was enlarged 1500. The church building dates from around 1500. It was restored between 1965 and 1969.
In 1840, Spijk was home to 126 people. In 1914, a Roman Catholic church was built in the village.
Gallery
File:Rhine, Spijk, Netherlands.jpg, The Rhine near Spijk
File:Brickwork industry (new building) along the Rhine river near Spijk. They use the clay from the river foreland - panoramio.jpg, Brickworks
File:Pastorie spijk.JPG, Clergy house
File:Spijk - 1.jpg, World War II monument
References
Populated places in Gelderland
Germany–Netherlands border crossings
Zevenaar
{{Gelderland-geo-stub