Hoogersmilde is a village in the Dutch province of

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Jan ...

. It is a part of the municipality of

Midden-Drenthe Midden-Drenthe () is a municipality in the northeastern Netherlands. The municipality was created in 1998, in a merger of the former municipalities of Beilen, Smilde, and Westerbork. Between 1998 and 2000, the name of the municipality was Middenve ...

, and lies about 16 km southwest of

Assen Assen () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in ...

History

The village was first mentioned in 1634 as Hooge Smilde, and means "high

Smilde Smilde is a town in the Netherlands' northern province of Drenthe and lies about southwest of the province capital of Assen. Smilde was a separate municipality until 1998, when it became a part of Middenveld. However, that name changed in 2000 a ...

". In 1614, a large region of

raised bog Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to flora and fauna that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike fens, are exclusively fed by precipitation (ombro ...

was bought by a group of Amsterdam merchants led by Adriaan Pauw to excavate the

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

. In 1634, Adriaan Pauw was made ''Heer'' of the ''

Heerlijkheid A ''heerlijkheid'' (a Dutch language, Dutch word; pl. ''heerlijkheden''; also called ''heerschap''; Latin: ''Dominium'') was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and Judiciary, judicial unit in rural areas in the Dutch-speaking ...

'' Smilde, after having acquired the ''

'' in 1633. Hoogersmilde is the oldest settlement and was often referred to as Oude-Smilde. The excavation stagnated around 1730, but resumed after the was dug between 1767 and 1780. The ''Heerlijkheid'' was dissolved in 1795, and the municipality of Smilde was created with neighbouring Smilde as its capital. The Dutch Reformed church was built in 1845. Hoogersmilde was home to 660 people in 1840. The Zendstation Smilde is located in Hoogersmilde, it partially collapsed after a fire on 15 July 2011. The

Blauwe Meer The Blauwe Meer ( Dutch for "blue lake") is an artificial lake, more precisely an excavation lake, southeast of Hoogersmilde in the province of Drenthe, Netherlands. In 1905, Roelfsema, a Groningen-based entrepreneur opened a sand-lime brick fa ...

, an excavation lake, is situated south of Hoogersmilde.

Education

There are two primary schools, De Vaart and Pieter van Thuyl.

Gallery

File:20050522 Hoogersmilde.jpg, Landscape around Hoogersmilde File:Ingestorte zendmast Hoogersmilde 2011.JPG, The collapsed tower (2011) File:Zendstation Smilde, juni 2012.jpg, Repaired tower (2012)

References

Midden-Drenthe Populated places in Drenthe {{Drenthe-geo-stub