Doorn is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

in the municipality of Utrechtse Heuvelrug in the central

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, in the province of

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

History

In a document from 885 to 896, the settlement is called "Thorhem", dwelling of

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, ...

, the God of Thunder.

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

s quartered at

Dorestad Dorestad (''Dorestat, Duristat'') was an early medieval emporium, located in the southeast of the province of Utrecht in the Netherlands, close to the modern-day town of Wijk bij Duurstede. It flourished during the 8th to early 9th centuries, ...

(now

Wijk bij Duurstede Wijk bij Duurstede () is a municipality and a city in the central Netherlands. Population centres * Cothen * Langbroek *Wijk bij Duurstede Topography ''Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Wijk bij Duurstede, 2013.'' City The city ...

) called the place Thorhem because, reputedly, the god of thunder was worshipped there. Indeed, archeological diggings in a moor on the estate of Hoog Moersbergen, north of Doorn, prove that there was a pagan sacrificial site. At the time, the settlement of Thorhem belonged to the homestead of Villa Thorhem. Around 1200, this homestead was in the possession of a provost of the

Bishopric of Utrecht The Bishopric of Utrecht ( nl, Sticht Utrecht) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries, in the present-day Netherlands. From 1024 to 1528, as one of the prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire, it w ...

. He, or one of his successors, had a castle built in the 14th Century, now Huis Doorn, and a church called the Maartenskerk ("St. Martin's Church") around 1200. The church was extended in the 15th century. It fell into Protestant hands around 1585 and is still in use as a Protestant church. Another castle, Kasteel Moersbergen, was first mentioned in 1435 and has been altered several times since the 17th Century. The estate around Huis Doorn was so large that there was little room for extension of the town. Only after 1874, when the estate was parcelled out, was there room for growth. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the town has grown considerably. Doorn is also a major base for the Royal Dutch Marines. Von Gimborn Arboretum, one of the sites of the botanical gardens of

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

, is near the town. Doorn was an independent municipality until 1 January 2006. Since then, it has been the principal town in the municipality of Utrechtse Heuvelrug. There is also a football club, Dev Doorn.

Famous inhabitants

The last German Emperor,

Wilhelm II , house = Hohenzollern , father = Frederick III, German Emperor , mother = Victoria, Princess Royal , religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United) , signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...

, lived at castle Doorn ( Huis Doorn), in the center of the village, after he was deposed in 1918. He died in Doorn in 1941. The Dutch novelist

Simon Vestdijk Simon Vestdijk (; 17 October 1898 – 23 March 1971) was a Dutch writer. He was nominated for the Nobel prize in literature fifteen times. Life Born in the small Frisian town of Harlingen, Vestdijk studied medicine in Amsterdam, but turned t ...

lived in Doorn for a great part of his life (between 1939 and 1971, a few short intervals excepted). The environs of Doorn are clearly recognisable in the landscape descriptions in many of his novels.

Maarten Maartens Maarten Maartens, pen name of ''Jozua Marius Willem van der Poorten Schwartz'' (15 August 1858 in Amsterdam – 3 August 1915 in Doorn), was a Dutch writer, who wrote in English. He was quite well known at the end of the nineteenth and the be ...

, a Dutch writer who wrote in English, had a small castle built in Doorn: Zonheuvel ("Sun Hill", finished in 1903). At present, the castle is called Maarten Maartenshuis and is a part of the hotel and conference centre Zonheuvel.

References

External links

Official website of the municipality of Utrechtse Heuvelrug (in Dutch)About the Maartenskerk (in Dutch)Soccer club DEV Doorn (in Dutch)
{{Authority control Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2006 Populated places in Utrecht (province) Former municipalities of Utrecht (province) Utrechtse Heuvelrug