Maasland
Maasland (population: 6,844) is a town in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It lies in the municipality of Midden-Delfland and covers an area of 24.42 km² (of which 0.64 km² water).
Maasland was a separate municipality until 2004, when it became part of Midden-Delfland.[1]
The first signs of a community started back in 925 when the area became part of the county of Graaf Dirk II and a church was built. After severe floodings during the 12th century, the Maasdijk was rebuilt and the town centre has been relocated to where it still is. In 1241 the German Teutonic Knights drew on the territory of Maasland.
In 1450 the 'Poldermolen' (translation: Poldermill) was built in Maasland (see picture).
During the war between Spain and the Netherlands a huge area of the Netherlands was flooded which was part of the strategy of Willem van Oranje. In 1574, these floodings affected Maasland, and once again the town was flooded. It took a couple of years before the town was rebuilt and in 1614 part of the town Maasland (which included the Maeslandsluys) gained independency and is known as Maassluis.
Until 1874 congresses where held in the tavern 'de Pynas'. After a townhall was built and this became the new place used for congresses.
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[edit] Places of interest
- The Church (founded circa 1400), burned down during the celebrations for freedom after World War II. Restored in 1954.
- Tavern 'de Pynas', which is now a café.
- Museum 'de Schilpen', an eighty-year-old grocery store in its original state. Now a museum.
- The 'Two Mills'
[edit] In the News
- According to Elsevier (a Dutch magazine) Maasland was the wealthiest town in the Netherlands during 2004.
- In August 2004 the KNMI (Dutch institute for Weather forecasting) reported a extreme high level of rainfall in the Netherlands. In the month August 325mm of rainfall was registered by the weatherstation in Maasland, the highest since the KNMI started measuring the rainfall in 1900.[2]
[edit] Famous people from Maasland
- Michiel Smit, far-right politician
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Maasland, windmill: de Dijkmolen
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Maasland, drawbridge
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Maasland, a street
[edit] References
- ^ Ad van der Meer and Onno Boonstra, Repertorium van Nederlandse gemeenten, KNAW, 2006.
- ^ Zomer van 2004, Nat en Vrij warm, KNMI News
[edit] External links
- Official website
- J. Kuyper, Gemeente Atlas van Nederland, 1865-1870, "Maasland". Map of the former municipality, around 1868.
- Maasland and Midden-Delfland Mooi Dichtbij portal
Coordinates: 51°56′N 4°16′E / 51.933°N 4.267°E
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