Dinxperlo (; Dutch Low Saxon: ) is a town and former

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 ...

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 ...

( Achterhoek region), situated directly at the Germany-Netherlands border. Since 1 January 2005, Dinxperlo has been part of the municipality of

Aalten Aalten () is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands. The former municipalities of Bredevoort (1818) and Dinxperlo (2005) have been merged with Aalten. Notable inhabitants of Aalten include Angus Young, guitarist of the Australian ro ...

. Before 2005, Dinxperlo was a separate municipality, covering the town of Dinxperlo itself and the village of De Heurne. The name of the village probably is derived from ''dingspel'' (

justice court In the New York State Unified Court System, a justice court is a local court that handles traffic tickets, criminal matters, small claims, and local code violations such as zoning. Constitutionally, justice courts are part of the state legal system ...

or area) and ''loo'' (wood). A popular explanation is that in the Middle Ages there was a

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and carry out the administration of justice in Civil law (common law), civil, C ...

in the woods here. Dinxperlo used to have a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

depicting Lady Justice.

Attractions

One of the town's main attractions is the Netherlands' smallest church (Kerkje "De Rietstap"). Another is a

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political bo ...

museum (''Grenslandmuseum'').

Transportation

The nearest train stations are Aalten railway station and Terborg railway station, with train service operated by Arriva every half-hour. Bus number 40 connects Dinxperlo to Terborg station and bus number 195 connects Dinxperlo to Aalten station. Both services start in the Willem van Oranjeplein. The service runs from

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It i ...

(

Arnhem railway station Arnhem Centraal railway station is the largest railway station in the city of Arnhem in Gelderland, Netherlands. It was opened on 14 May 1845 and is located on the Amsterdam–Arnhem railway, the Arnhem–Leeuwarden railway and the Arnhem–Nijmege ...

) to Doetinchem and Winterswijk stopping at various places on the way.

Dutch-German border

One street in Dinxperlo, ''Heelweg'', is partly German in the village of

Suderwick Suderwick is a village in the city of Bocholt, Kreis Borken in the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia. Suderwick is situated at the Germany-Netherlands border and forms one urban area with Dinxperlo, a town in Aalten municipality of Gelderland ...

, ( district Borken). The road itself lies in the Netherlands, but one side of the housing zone is in Germany (where it is called ''Hellweg''). The unique boundary line is delimited by a treaty between Germany and the Netherlands signed in April 1960, which resulted in the return of Suderwick to then West Germany on 1 August 1963 after the Netherlands annexed the village soon after the Second World War as part of claims for war reparations. The treaty also provides for the access arrangements of those living in German territory but with only access via Heelweg which is Dutch territory. The houses there belong to the small town of

, which might be translated as "southern area". Also, Dinxperlo houses a shared Dutch-German police station. Besides Dutch and German, at both sides of the border a common dialect is spoken, which is a variety of Low Saxon.

Gallery

File:Dinxperlo (NL), Flaggenskulptur -- 2016 -- 2328.jpg, Dinxperlo, sculpture of flags Image:Dinxperlo, kerk foto10 2010-07-19 15.41.JPG, Dinxperlo, church Image:Dinxperlo, modern straatzicht foto4 2010-07-19 14.23.JPG, Dinxperlo, Heelweg (exactly at the border)

References

External links

* {{Coord, 51, 52, N, 6, 29, E, region:NL_type:city, display=title Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2005 Populated places in Gelderland Former municipalities of Gelderland Aalten