Hoogeveen

For other uses, see Hoogeveen (disambiguation).

Hoogeveen
—  Municipality  —
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates: 52°44′N 6°28′E
Country	Netherlands
Province	Drenthe
Area(2006)
• Total	129.22 km2 (49.9 sq mi)
• Land	127.77 km2 (49.3 sq mi)
• Water	1.45 km2 (0.6 sq mi)
Population (1 January, 2007)
• Total	54,345
• Density	425/km2 (1,100.7/sq mi)
	Source: CBS, Statline.
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)

Hoogeveen ( pronunciation ) is a municipality and a town in the northeastern Netherlands.

city office (next to the town hall)

Population centres

Elim, Fluitenberg, Hoogeveen and Noordscheschut, which still have the canals which used to be throughout the town. Other villages of the town are Hollandscheveld, Nieuw Moscou, Nieuweroord, Nieuwlande, Pesse, Stuifzand and Tiendeveen.

Hoogeveen

It dates its history to 20 December 1625, when Roelof van Echten bought a large tract of peat land from farmers of the district with the plan to harvest its peat. One old map of the area called it Locus Deserta Atque ob Multos Paludes Invia, a deserted and impenetrable place of many swamps. Hoogeveen itself was established in 1636 by Peter Joostens Warmont and Johan van der Meer.

Its coat of arms, granted 10 November 1819, is white, with a pile of peat covered in straw in the center and beehives on each side, representing the town's first two major industries.

Huts in Zwartschaap, on the way between Hoogeveen and Pesse, painted by Van Gogh in 1883

Vincent van Gogh visited the area in the fall of 1883.

In the second half of the 1960s, Hoogeveen was the fastest growing town in the Netherlands. Its rapid growth during that period led its city council to fill most of the town's canals, canals dug in the area's early days when it was a prime source of peat.

Access to the town is provided by the A28 (Utrecht - Groningen) highway, the N/A37 (Hoogeveen - Germany), and the Western Cities - Groningen railway.

The then recognized oldest person in the world, Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper, lived in Hoogeveen until her death in August 2005.

Hoogeveen also has a small airport that attracts some tourism. Since 1997 the Hoogeveen Chess Tournament is organized.

Transportation

Railway Station: Hoogeveen

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in The Netherlands

Twin towns — Sister cities

Hoogeveen is twinned with:

• Martin, Slovakia

References

• Dijk, Wout J., & van der Sluis, Meent W.: De Drentse tijd van Vincent van Gogh, Boon uitgeverij, Groningen 2001 ISBN 90-75913-18-4

External links

• Official website