Rijssen
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| Rijssen | |||
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| Coordinates: 52°18′31″N 6°31′5″E / 52.30861°N 6.51806°E | |||
| Country | Netherlands | ||
| Province | Overijssel | ||
| Municipality | Rijssen-Holten | ||
| Population (1 januari 2009) | 28.053 UNIQ7ede8d46c0ba893-ref-00,000,000-QINU | ||
Rijssen (Low Saxon: Riesn) is a town in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is located in the municipality of Rijssen-Holten
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[edit] History
Rijssen received city rights on the 5th of May, 1243, but archeological evidence shows that the monk Lebuinus founded a church in Rijssen as early as the seventh century, as part of a coordinated attempt to convert the pagan saxons to christianity. The original city rights bill was lost in a large fire that swept through the city, reducing the city hall and the keep to rubble, but in the year 2006 a copy was given to the newly instated city council. From the old city, only a church and a few houses dating from the eighteenth century remain. In the 19th and early 20th century, Rijssen had some textiles factories; they had to close down in the 1970s due to overpowering Asian competition.
[edit] Transportation
- Railway station: Rijssen
Rijssen is easily accessible through a number of provincial roads, such as the N347 and the N350, the latter one which connects Rijssen to the village of Holten, and after which the local radio station was named. Through these provincial roads, Rijssen is indirectly connected to the motorway A1, which runs from Berlin to Amsterdam.
All neighbourhoods in Rijssen are easily accessible by bus.
[edit] Facilities/tourism
Rijssen has multiple shopping facilities in its centre, which also accommodates a number of bars, pubs and lunchrooms. It has a large discothèque that attracts visitors from all neighbouring towns and villages. The small city has a fire brigade museum and a monumental church, the Schildkerk. The restored and fully functional mill de Pelmolen is one of the major attractions of the town.
Rijssen is located in an ample-forested area, accommodating a number of renowned camp sites.
[edit] People
The inhabitants of Rijssen are known for their pride for their town, their self-sufficiency and working ethos. This pride shows in the fact that Rijssen has its own anthem.
Rijssen has a large community of several Protestant groups, with several churches. The SGP (a reformed political party) long held the strongest position in the municipality council. A large percentage of Rijssen's population is member of one of these conservative groups. Throughout the years this has guaranteed a very positive working ethos, resulting in Rijssen having one of the most thriving and fastest growing economies in the Netherlands.
Rijssen also has a growing community of Molukkish, Turkish, Syrian and Moroccan people, who contribute to the diversity of the town.
[edit] Dialect
Rijssen's self-reliancy shows in, among other features, its dialect. Although it is a variety of Twents, which is itself a variety of Dutch Low Saxon, it has preserved a very distinct character throughout the years that is immediately recognisable, although hard to understand for outsiders. Characteristic features include diphthongisation of some vowels that are monophthongs in other varieties of Twents, vowel elongation and an some additional vowels that are absent in other varieties. Below are few examples:
- stemme (voice) - stämme (stems).
- IPA: /'stemə/ and /'stæmə/
- veste (vests) - vuste (already) - vuuste (fists) - völs te (much too)
- IPA: /'vɛstə/ - /'vʏstə/ - /'vystə/ - /'vɜstə/
Rijssen was a separate municipality until it merged with Holten in 2001. The workingtitle of the municipality was "Rijssen", and did get the final name "Rijssen-Holten" in 2003.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ CBS Statline
- ^ Ad van der Meer and Onno Boonstra, "Repertorium van Nederlandse gemeenten", KNAW, 2006. [1]
