Bourtange (;

Gronings Gronings (; or Grönnegs), is a collective name for some Low Saxon dialects spoken in the province of Groningen and around the Groningen border in Drenthe and Friesland. Gronings and the strongly related varieties in East Frisia have a stro ...

: ''Boertang'') is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

with a population of 430 in the municipality of Westerwolde in 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 ...

. It is situated in the region Westerwolde in the east of the province of

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

near the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

border. Fort Bourtange was built in 1593 during the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Reformation, centralisation, exc ...

and was used until 1851. Between 1967 and 1992 the

star fort A bastion fort or ''trace italienne'' (a phrase derived from non-standard French, meaning 'Italian outline') is a fortification in a style developed during the early modern period in response to the ascendancy of gunpowder weapons such as c ...

was gradually restored to its mid-18th-century state and it is currently an

open-air museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings" ...

Etymology

The name ''Bourtange'' comes from the Dutch word ''tange'' (sand ridge), because the settlement is situated on a strategically important sand ridge in the

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

es of the Bourtange Moor.

History

Fort Bourtange was initially built during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

(''circa'' 1568–1648) when

William I of Orange William the Silent or William the Taciturn (; 24 April 153310 July 1584), more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange (), was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs that set off the Eighty Years' War (156 ...

wanted to control the main road between

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and the city of

which was controlled by the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

. This road followed a sandy ridge (''tange'') through the

es (the Bourtange Swamp). Later, around 1594, Bourtange became part of the fortifications on the border between the northern provinces (

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

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 ...

) and Germany. Bourtange was a separate municipality until 1822, when it was merged with Vlagtwedde. In 1851 the

was given up and Bourtange became a normal village. Around 1960 living conditions in the village deteriorated and it was decided that Bourtange would be rebuilt to its state of 1740-1750. Today it is an

Geography

Bourtange is located in the center of the municipality of Westerwolde and in the east of the province of

near the

border. It is situated on a sand ridge in the Bourtange Moor, in the region of Westerwolde.

Demographics

In 2001, the town of Bourtange had 267 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 0.21 km², and contained 133 residences. Statistics Netherlands (CBS)
''Bevolkingskernen in Nederland 2001''
. (Statistics are for the continuous built-up area). In 2005, the statistical area "Bourtange", which also can include the surrounding countryside, had a population of around 530. Statistics Netherlands (CBS)
''Statline: Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2003-2005''
. As of 1 January 2005. As of 2012, Bourtange has a

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 430 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of .

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Former municipalities of Groningen (province) Populated places in Groningen (province) Westerwolde (municipality) Marsh castles