Staphorst () is a municipality and a town in the eastern

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 ...

History

The villages of Staphorst and its southern neighbour Rouveen came into existence as in the 13th century

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

s started to bring the

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

s and

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s into culture. All the farms were built along the long road through the bog area. Thus a lengthy row of farms was built, becoming the long village of Staphorst-Rouveen. This phenomenon is called in Dutch: ''lintbebouwing'' ( ribbon urbanization). In many parts of the Netherlands this type of village is quite common, e.g.

Vriezenveen Vriezenveen ( Lower Saxon: t Vjenne, Venne, Vjenne, Vreeznven or Vreeinvenne'') is a town in the municipality of Twenterand in the Dutch province of Overijssel. The population was 13,800 on January 1, 2020. Until July 1, 2002, Vriezenveen fo ...

, the villages along river dykes in the Netherlands, the so-called moor-colonies in the provinces

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 Nove ...

and

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of t ...

, as well as the German regions opposite the border. According to the website ''goDutch.com'' in the section of "Excerpts from the Windmill" in the entry for
Staphorst reunion organizers eager to welcome former residents for April 2011 municipal bicentennial
, Staphorst was a Dutch municipality, created through a decree by French emperor Napoleon who merged four smaller entities into a much larger one. The 1811 decree merged the villages of Rouveen, Staphorst and IJhorst along with nearby sparsely populated Hasselter schoutambt (a judicial entity) into a municipality, known since 1818 as Staphorst. Except for a few minor changes, Staphorst's borders have remained unchanged, making it an anomaly in Dutch municipal history. A specialty for Staphorst is, that after a farmer's death, his land was often divided between his sons. The son who didn't inherit his father's farm built a farm-house for his own behind the other. Therefore, many pieces of farmland are very lengthy, yet narrow (e.g. 1500 x 40 metres). Originally, each piece of land was 125 metres wide. Over Staphorst

Gemeente Staphorst. The farms are of the traditional Low Saxon type. They have green doors and window shutters. Most farms existing now were built between 1850 and 1910.

Society

Staphorst is still a largely orthodox

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...

village and has one of the highest church attendancy rates of the Netherlands. In 1971, Staphorst became world news due to an outbreak of

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sy ...

. 39 people (mostly children) became infected with polio. Of these, five died and a number of others became disabled. 20% of residents remain unvaccinated for religious reasons. As a result, Staphorst and other similar areas in the Netherlands are classified as risk areas by the WHO"Polio in Staphorst,"
'' Andere Tijden'',

VPRO The VPRO (stylized vpro; originally an acronym for , ) is a Dutch public broadcaster, which forms a part of the Dutch public broadcasting system. Founded in 1926 as a liberal Protestant broadcasting organization, it gradually became more ...

(1 Nov 2007). – the only such area in Europe. Staphorster farmhouse in authentic colors

The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in Staphorst at 2.76 was 4th highest in all of Netherlands in 2003."Largest families in Urk,"
CBS (Statistics Netherlands), Web magazine (1 September 2003 10:00). That makes Staphorst a place with one of the highest

birth rate The birth rate for a given period is the total number of live human births per 1,000 population divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registration system for births; populati ...

s in all of Europe.

Population centres

Demographics

Staphorst had a sustainable birth rate until the beginning of 21st century. But during the 2000–2007 period, the birth rate dropped considerably. *Birth Rate: 15.79 per 1000 (down from 18.96 in 2000). *Death Rate: 6.98 per 1000. *NGR: +0.88%CBS/nl
/ref> The

of Staphorst declined further to 14,9‰ in 2016, while the

total fertility rate The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime if: # she were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through her lifetime # she were t ...

declined to 2,65 children per woman.

Notable people

Lambertus Johannes Hansen Lambertus Johannes Hansen (12 August 1803, Staphorst – 21 April 1859, Amsterdam) was a 19th-century Dutch painter. Biography According to the RKD he was the son of the cityscape painter Carel Lodewijk Hansen and the brother of Carel II (b ...

(1803 in Staphorst – 1859) Dutch painter * Tjerk Vermaning (1929 in Staphorst – 1986) a controversial Dutch amateur archaeologist *

Roelof Bisschop Roelof Bisschop (born 30 November 1956 in Staphorst) is a Dutch historian and politician. As a member of the Reformed Political Party (SGP) he has been an House of Representatives (Netherlands), MP since 20 September 2012. Previously he was a memb ...

(born 1956 in Staphorst) a Dutch historian and politician

Sport

* Marc Houtzager (born 1971 in Rouveen) a Dutch show jumping equestrian, silver medallist at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

* Bert Konterman (born 1971 in Rouveen) former professional footballer with 470 club caps *

Gretha Smit Grietje "Greta" Smit (born 20 January 1976) is a Dutch former speed skater. Smit won a surprising silver medal in the 2002 Winter Olympics in the 5000 meter event. She skated a world record broken in a later pair by Claudia Pechstein. Prior to ...

(born 1976 in Rouveen) a Dutch former speed skater, silver medallist in the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internationa ...

Gallery

File:Rouveen - Oud Gereformeerde Kerk in Nederland.JPG, Rouveen - Oud Gereformeerde Kerk File:Rouveen, hotel foto3 2011-05-21 10.18.jpg, Rouveen, hotel File:ZwarteDennen9.jpg, Forest Service Staphorst, Recreational pond 'de Zwarte Dennen' File:Molen De Leijen, Staphorst (3).jpg, Molen De Leijen, Staphorst

References

External links

*
Tourist Office of Staphorst
{{Authority control Municipalities of Overijssel Populated places in Overijssel Kop van Overijssel Salland