Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Town
|
|||
|
|||
| Country | Netherlands | ||
| Province | South Holland | ||
| Municipality | Zuidplas | ||
| Source: CBS, Statline. | |||
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) | ||
| Website | www.zuidplas.nl | ||
Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel (pronounced something like NEW-er-kerk ahn den EYE-sel) is a town in the western part of the Netherlands. It is located in the province of South Holland. In 2004, about 22,344 people lived there. Since 2010, it has been part of a larger municipality called Zuidplas.
This town sits right next to the Hollandsche IJssel river. On the other side of the river, you'll find the town of Ouderkerk aan den IJssel.
Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel is famous for having the lowest point in the entire Netherlands! This spot is about 6.76 meters (or 22 feet) below the average sea level in Amsterdam. It is also the hometown of Angela Visser, who won the Miss Universe contest in 1989.
History of Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel
Nieuwerkerk likely started around the year 1250. The first time the name "Nuwekerke" was written down was in 1282. At that time, Floris V, Count of Holland loaned the land to a person named Traveys of Moordrecht. Another old record from 1317 shows that William I, Count of Hainaut sold parts of the area to John III van de Werve, Lord of Hovorst.
The original old village was built on a small hill. This hill was surrounded by shallow lakes. These lakes were created because people harvested peat (a type of soil made from decayed plants) from the ground. In 1839, the first lake was drained. This created a new piece of land called a polder, which is now the Zuidplaspolder. In 1866, another polder, the Alexanderpolder, was made.
The village started to grow a lot after 1855. This was when a railway line was built between the cities of Rotterdam and Gouda. Nieuwerkerk also grew quickly after the Second World War. Another period of fast growth happened in the early 1980s.
In 1953, a very big storm called the North Sea Flood of 1953 hit the area. A dike (a wall that holds back water) along the river broke. The mayor of Nieuwerkerk acted quickly. He told a boat captain named Arie Evegroen to steer his grain barge, named Twee Gebroeders (Two Brothers), into the hole in the dike. This brave action helped to plug the hole and save the town from more flooding.
Getting Around Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel
Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel has its own railway station. You can catch a train from the Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel railway station.
