For the Dutch footballer, see Royston Drenthe.
| Provincie Drenthe Province of Drenthe |
|||||
|
|||||
 |
|||||
| Capital | Assen | ||||
| Largest city | Assen (proper) | ||||
| Queen's Commissioner | A.L. (Relus) ter Beek | ||||
| Religion (1999) | Protestant 35% Catholic 8% |
||||
| Area • Land • Water |
2,642 km² (7th) 38 km² |
||||
| Population (2006) • Total • Density |
484,481 (10th) 183/km² (12th) |
||||
| Inclusion | 1796 | ||||
| Anthem | Mijn Drenthe | ||||
| ISO | NL-DR | ||||
| Official website | www.drenthe.nl | ||||
Drenthe pronunciation is a province of the Netherlands, located in the north-east of the country. The capital city is Assen. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and Germany (districts of Emsland and Bentheim) to the east.
Contents |
History
Drenthe, unlike many other parts of the Netherlands, has always been a sparsely populated rural area. Other parts of the Netherlands did not really see this “territory” as a part that belonged to the rest of the Netherlands but more like “wasteland”. This “wasteland”, however, has been populated by people since prehistory, albeit by just a handful. Most tangible evidence of this are the dolmens (hunebedden) built around 3500 BC, 53 of the 54 dolmens in the Netherlands can be found in Drenthe, concentrated in the northeast of the province. Drenthe was first mentioned in a document from the year 820, it was called Pago Treanth (district Drenthe). In archives from "Het Drents Archief" from 1024 to 1025 the "county Drenthe" is mentioned. After long being subject to the bishops of Utrecht, Drenthe came under the control of Charles V in the 16th century. When the Republic of the Seven United Provinces was declared, Drenthe became part of it, although it did not gain provincial status until January 1, 1796. Shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, the Dutch government built a camp near the town of Westerbork to accommodate German (Jewish) refugees. Ironically, during the Second World War, the German occupiers used the camp (which they named KZ Westerbork) as a "Durchgangslager". Many Dutch Jews, Sinti, Roma, resistance combatants and political adversaries were imprisoned before being transferred to other camps in Germany and Poland. Anne Frank was deported on the last train from Westerbork. The name of this region is said to stem from *thrija-hantja "three lands".
Politics
The provincial council (Provinciale Staten) has 51 seats, and is headed by the Queen's Commissioner, currently Relus ter Beek. While the provincial council is elected by the inhabitants, the Commissioner is appointed by the Queen and the cabinet of the Netherlands. With 19 seats, the social democratic PvdA is the largest party in the council. The daily affairs of the province are taken care of by the Gedeputeerde Staten, which are also headed by the Commissioner; its members (gedeputeerden) can be compared with ministers. <imagemap> image:Netherlands map large.png|thumb||Map of the Netherlands, linking to the province pages; the red dots mark the capitals of the provinces and the black dots other notable cities or towns poly 642 127 615 162 635 205 619 224 603 222 575 241 595 265 579 280 586 295 630 317 656 319 674 306 696 313 763 307 769 244 687 150 675 144 Drenthe
poly 481 243 420 297 376 406 441 445 513 390 532 323 557 312 518 259 Flevoland poly 518 258 573 247 601 220 617 221 632 206 611 164 581 143 606 84 597 57 625 19 459 26 356 62 323 124 383 197 425 237 449 266 482 239 Friesland poly 440 448 512 390 526 357 547 368 560 360 583 396 570 418 593 443 642 440 658 460 690 458 715 483 726 521 716 551 647 581 561 606 464 582 414 609 389 605 360 591 360 575 392 531 484 538 455 497 Gelderland poly 626 8 670 6 745 66 786 110 789 181 770 236 691 147 645 123 611 157 584 141 611 91 602 60 630 20 Groningen poly 535 603 574 669 531 667 552 727 496 749 477 776 527 809 490 903 503 928 572 932 595 872 553 841 550 836 610 800 583 776 621 731 602 661 573 609 Limburg poly 473 776 406 767 343 725 227 738 207 730 196 680 197 643 236 623 292 613 336 586 353 584 386 609 414 611 464 585 529 601 570 667 527 664 545 726 494 745 North Brabant poly 319 120 447 268 416 297 375 404 406 430 398 462 380 462 362 446 350 429 318 453 275 453 255 416 270 203 North Holland poly 699 316 751 365 772 394 772 444 721 482 692 456 656 456 642 438 595 441 576 419 589 395 562 359 547 365 527 355 533 327 562 313 523 261 574 249 590 265 574 276 583 295 626 320 658 323 677 308 Overijssel poly 252 416 154 525 112 594 159 620 196 639 234 620 290 610 337 581 356 583 389 532 381 523 339 544 319 520 326 501 315 484 337 474 318 455 273 455 South Holland poly 410 433 434 445 453 495 479 536 392 530 378 521 339 542 324 518 329 498 316 485 341 472 321 455 349 432 378 465 400 463 Utrecht poly 196 641 194 683 204 736 156 783 111 782 42 772 12 747 15 716 31 665 103 591 Zeeland </imagemap>
Municipalities
Due to reorganisations in the 1990s, the number of municipalities in Drenthe has been reduced to twelve. Most municipalities therefore now consist of several towns and villages.
- Aa en Hunze
- Assen
- Borger-Odoorn
- Coevorden
- De Wolden
- Emmen
- Hoogeveen
- Meppel
- Midden-Drenthe
- Noordenveld
- Tynaarlo
- Westerveld
Geography
Besides the capital Assen, Emmen, Meppel and Hoogeveen are the major urban centres of the province. Drenthe, consisting mostly of heathland, has no significant rivers or lakes.
Economy
Agriculture is an important employer, although industrial areas are found near the cities. The quietness of the province is also attracting a growing number of tourists.
Drents
Drenthe has its own dialect named after the province, but each town or village has its own version.
| Drents: | Dutch: | English: | |
| Emmen: | We moet'n nie zo haast'n. | We hoeven ons niet zo te haasten. | We do not have to hurry. |
| Ruinen: | een, tweej, drai, vier, vaif, zees, zeeve, aach, neuge, tein | een, twee, drie, vier, vijf, zes, zeven, acht, negen, tien | one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten |
| Noordenveld: | ain, twai, drai, vaier, vief, zes, zeum, aacht, neegn, tien | ||
| Ruinerwold (about 10 km from Ruinen): |
iene, tweie, dreie, veere, vieve, zesse, zeum, achte, neegn, tiene |
External links
- Official website
- Map (pdf)
- Map of Province
- The Drentse Fietsvierdaagse, the most famous of all fietsvierdaagses of the Netherlands.
|
|
|
|---|---|
| Drenthe • Flevoland • Friesland • Gelderland • Groningen • Limburg • North Brabant • North Holland • Overijssel • South Holland • Utrecht • Zeeland |
 |
 Seventeen Provinces (1477) — Burgundian Circle (1512)  |
||
|---|---|---|
| States | Artois | Brabant | Drenthe | Flanders | Friesland | Groningen | Guelders | Hainaut | Holland | Limburg | Luxembourg | Mechelen | Namur | Overijssel | Utrecht | Zeeland | Zutphen |
 |
| Dependent territories | Antwerp | Besançon | Breda | Burgundy | |
