Slochteren () is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

and former municipality with a population of 15,546 in the province of Groningen in the northeast of the

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 ...

. On 1 January 2018, Slochteren merged with

Hoogezand-Sappemeer Hoogezand-Sappemeer () is a former municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It was the third most-populous municipality in the province of Groningen, after Groningen and Oldambt. It was formed in 1949 by the merger of the former municipali ...

and

Menterwolde Menterwolde () is a former municipality in the province of Groningen in the Netherlands. On January 1, 2018, Menterwolde merged with Hoogezand-Sappemeer and Slochteren, forming the municipality Midden-Groningen. History On 1 January 1990, the ...

, forming the municipality Midden-Groningen. The former municipality can be characterized as a chain of small villages dividing a mostly agricultural landscape. Having an agricultural background for at least a thousand years, the community houses for the most part commuters to nearby towns like

Hoogezand Hoogezand is a town in the municipality of Midden-Groningen, in the province of Groningen in northeast Netherlands. History The name refers to a higher sanded ''(Hooge Sandt)'' place in the peatlands cut through when the Winschoterdiep chann ...

, Groningen and

Delfzijl Delfzijl (; gos, Delfsiel) is a city and former municipality with a population of 25,651 in the province of Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. Delfzijl was a sluice between the Delf and the Ems, which became fortified settlement in ...

. The mansion Fraeylemaborg (a small 'castle', the oldest parts of which are dated in the Middle Ages) is located in Slochteren.

Geography

The population centres in the former municipality are: * Denemarken * Froombosch * Harkstede * Hellum * Kolham * Lageland * Luddeweer * Overschild * Schaaphok * Scharmer * Schildwolde * Siddeburen * Slochteren * Steendam * Tjuchem * Woudbloem Gem-Slochteren-OpenTopo

''Topographic map of the municipality of Slochteren, June 2015''

Natural gas field

Slochteren is in the center of the

giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

Groningen gas field The Groningen gas field is a natural gas field in Groningen province in the northeastern part of the Netherlands. With an estimated 2,740 billion cubic metres of recoverable natural gas it is the largest natural gas field in Europe and one of the ...

, discovered in 1959, ensuring the position of the Netherlands as a major energy exporting country. The estimated gas reserves in 2009 was .NAM/Shell gas/oil website
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Gallery

File:Protestantske tsjerke, Slochteren.jpg, Protestant Church File:SlochterenRM.jpg, Former courthouse of Slochteren File:SlochterenGemeentehuis.jpg, Town hall File:Old postoffice Slochteren.JPG, Former post office

References

External links

* Midden-Groningen Natural gas industry in the Netherlands Former municipalities of Groningen (province) Populated places in Groningen (province) Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2018 {{gasfield-stub