Amerongen () is a town in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Utrechtse Heuvelrug Utrechtse Heuvelrug (; ) is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. It was formed on 1 January 2006 by merging the former municipalities of Amerongen, Doorn, Driebergen-Rijsenburg, Leersum, and Maarn. Na ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, on the border of the

Utrecht Hill Ridge Utrecht Hill Ridge () is a ridge of low sandhills that stretches in a direction from southeast to northwest over the Provinces of the Netherlands, Dutch province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht and over a part of North Holland. The total length of th ...

. It lies about 7 km (4.3 mi) southwest of

Veenendaal Veenendaal () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a town in central Netherlands, located in the province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. Veenendaal is the only population centre within its administrative borders. The municipal ...

(10.5 km or 6.5 mi by road). The landscape rises from the flat water meadows of the

Nederrijn 300px, Course of the Nederrijn The Nederrijn (; "Lower Rhine"; distinct from the Lower Rhine or further upstream) is the Dutch part of the Rhine from the confluence at the town of Angeren of the cut-off Rhine bend of Oude Rijn (Gelderland ...

(Lower Rhine) to the Utrecht Hill Ridge ("Utrechtse Heuvelrug"). The highest point in the western Netherlands is located 2 km east of the village. The Amerongense Berg (Amerongen Mountain) has a height of 69 metres above sea level.

History

The history of Amerongen is closely related to that of

Amerongen Castle Amerongen Castle ( ) is a castle in Amerongen, Utrechtse Heuvelrug, Netherlands. It was built between 1674 and 1680, on the site of a medieval castle that had been burned down by the French in 1673. The gardens still contain historic elements such ...

. This castle was first established in 1286 as a wooden

donjon A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residenc ...

but was rebuilt in stone. It was damaged or destroyed by fire and rebuilt several times during the following centuries. In 1672 the Netherlands were invaded by the French army and in early 1673, the castle was deliberately burned down as a punishment for non-payment of taxes levied by the French. Shortly afterwards the castle was rebuilt, under the capable supervision of Margaretha Turnor, wife of Van Reede, owner of the castle and special envoy to the court of Brandenburg at this time. The newly built and extended castle arose in the Dutch Classicist style. Although the grounds and gardens were remodelled at various times and the interior brought up to date by

Pierre Cuypers Petrus Josephus Hubertus "Pierre" Cuypers (16 May 1827 – 3 March 1921) was a Dutch architect. His name is most frequently associated with the Amsterdam Central Station (1881–1889) and the Rijksmuseum (1876–1885), both in Amsterdam. ...

in the early 20th century, it remains a prime example of this style. The former Emperor of Germany,

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...

, sought refuge in the Netherlands in November 1918 after the First World War. He lived in the castle until May 1920, when he moved to nearby Doorn, where he spent the rest of his life. It was in the Castle of Amerongen that he signed the Act of Abdication. Until January 1, 2006, Amerongen was a separate municipality, which covered the village of Amerongen itself,

Overberg __NOTOC__ Overberg is a region in South Africa to the east of Cape Town beyond the Hottentots-Holland mountains. It lies along the Western Cape Province's south coast between the Cape Peninsula and the region known as the Garden Route in the e ...

, and the western part of the village of Elst. Elst was transferred to the municipality of

Rhenen Rhenen () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the central Netherlands. The municipality also includes the villages of Achterberg, and Elst (Utrecht), Elst. The town lies at a geographically interesting location, n ...

; the largest part of the municipality has merged with four other municipalities to form the new municipality of

. In 2021, the village of Amerongen had 6.985 inhabitants. In 2001, the built-up area of the village was 1.21 km², and contained 2072 residences.Statistics Netherlands (CBS), ''Bevolkingskernen in Nederland 2001'' . Statistics are for the continuous built-up area. "Amerongen", "Van Amerongen" and "Van Nieuw Amerongen" are surnames that indicate that their ancestors originated from this area.

Economics

Amerongen had a tobacco industry until the 19th century. The downfall of the tobacco industry was caused by the rise of

cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and Fermentation, fermented tobacco leaves made to be Tobacco smoking, smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct comp ...

consumption, to which the tobacco from Amerongen was not suited. The foreign tobacco market also contributed to the downfall of the local tobacco industry. In 1879 the local Earl of Amerongen, Aldenburgh Bentinck, tried to revive the local economy by opening a cream factory in 1890. However, the factory had to close in 1912 and he then insisted the village on growing tulips. However, the domestic Dutch market proved too strong for the village and the production was stopped. In a last effort the Earl insisted on building hop-yards to grow hops, however this plan failed too. The majority of the villagers therefore became dependent on jobs in neighboring villages. The factory of Technivorm, the producer of the Moccamaster coffee machine, is situated in Amerongen.

Transportation

The village of Amerongen is served by one bus line, namely line 50 to

and back to Veenendaal and Wageningen. The village was served by a tram from 9 November 1884 until 1949, which went from

Zeist Zeist () is the Capital city, capital and largest town of the Zeist (municipality), municipality of Zeist. The town is located in the Utrecht (province), Utrecht province of the Netherlands, east of the city of Utrecht. History The town of " ...

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

. :nl:Tramlijn_Amersfoort_-_Arnhem#Openingsdata on 01-12-2015 The tram itself was electrified in 1922, before it was electrified the tramline was used by steamtrams. The increase of the amount of autobusses contributed to the downfall of the tram in Amerongen, on which operations with the tram ceased in 1949. There are no tram tracks left in the village.

Gallery

File:NIMH - 2011 - 0805 - Aerial photograph of Amerongen, The Netherlands - 1920 - 1940.jpg, Kasteel Amerongen, +/-1920-1940 File:Amerongen, de Andrieskerk RM7755 IMG 6547 2020-07-12 15.52.jpg, The Andrieskerk. File:Amerongen, korenmolen Maallust IMG 9190 2019-04-19 15.01.jpg, Amerongen, windmill: molen Maallust File:Tussen Amerongen en Elst, het Amerongse bos IMG 6558 2020-07-12 16.12.jpg, Wood: Amerongse bos

References

External links

Official Site of the Utrechtse Heuvelrug
{{Authority control Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2006 Former municipalities of Utrecht (province) Populated places in Utrecht (province) Utrechtse Heuvelrug