The Fivel was a historical river in 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 ...

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 received its water from

peat 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 muske ...

s around

Kolham Kolham is a village in the Netherlands, Dutch province of Groningen (province), Groningen. It is part of the municipality of Midden-Groningen. In 1959, natural gas was discovered at Kolham. Later, it was revealed that Groningen gas field was the la ...

and Slochteren, flowed past , and , and

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the Channel (geography), channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erosion, erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank, cut bank or river cl ...

ed north of

Winneweer Winneweer () is a small village in the municipalities of Eemsdelta and Groningen in the Dutch province of Groningen. The village was first mentioned in 1668 as "Winne-weer, een Logijs-plaets", and refers to an inn which was located near Garrelsw ...

. The Fivel

debouch In hydrology, a debouch (or debouche) is a place where runoff from a small, confined space discharges into a larger, broader body of water. The word is derived from the French verb ''déboucher'' (), which means "to unblock, to clear". The ter ...

ed into a wide

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

of the

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( ; ; or ; ; ; ) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of low-lying Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tida ...

Background

The banks of this former estuary are still recognizable by rows of villages on

artificial dwelling hill A ''terp'', also known as a ''wierde, woerd, warf, warft, werf, werve, wurt'' or ''værft'', is an artificial dwelling mound found on the North European Plain that has been created to provide safe ground during storm surges, high tides a ...

s (''wierden''): *on the east side

Garrelsweer Garrelsweer () is a village in the Netherlands, Dutch province of Groningen (province), Groningen. It is a part of the municipality of Eemsdelta. History The village was first mentioned in 1057 as Gerleuiswert, and means "settled height of Gerle ...

Loppersum Loppersum (; ) is a village and former municipality in the province of Groningen (province), Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. Geography Loppersum is located in the province of Groningen (province), Groningen in the north of the ...

, Eenum, , and

Godlinze Godlinze (; ) is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is a part of the municipality of Eemsdelta, and is located about 24 km northeast of Groningen. History The village was first mentioned in the 10th or 11th century as Godle ...

; *on the west side

Stedum Stedum (; ) is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Eemsdelta, about northeast of the city of Groningen. Stedum was a separate municipality until 1990, when it merged with Loppersum. The German mu ...

Middelstum Middelstum (; ) is a village with a population of 2,419 in the province of Groningen in the Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Eemsdelta. Middelstum was a separate municipality until 1990, when it was merged with Loppersum. Hist ...

, Kantens, Rottum, and

Usquert Usquert is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Het Hogeland Het Hogeland is a municipality in the north of the province of Groningen (province), Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. Hist ...

. This was

Fivelgo Fivelingo or Fivelgo is a historical region and one of the Ommelanden (shires) in the province of Groningen. It was located southeast of Hunsingo, northeast of Gorecht, and northwest of Oldambt, and southwest of the Wadden Sea. Fivelingo wa ...

, one of the missionary districts assigned to

Ludger Ludger (; also Lüdiger or Liudger) ( – 26 March 809) was a missionary among the Frisians and Saxons, founder of Werden Abbey and the first Bishop of Münster in Westphalia. He has been called the "Apostle of Saxony". Early life to ordina ...

after

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

had acquired

Frisia Frisia () is a Cross-border region, cross-border Cultural area, cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. Wider definitions of "Frisia" ...

east of the

Lauwers The Lauwers () is a river in the Netherlands. It forms part of the border between the provinces of Friesland and Groningen. From the 730s to Widukind's defeat in 785, it was part of the border of the Frankish Empire. The former Lauwerszee an ...

in 785. In or shortly before the 11th century the Delf was dug, as an east–west waterway for navigation, and also for the drainage of the hinterland when the estuary was silting up. At Winneweer (Muda), the Fivel now discharges into the section of the Delf that became known as the , running through

Appingedam Appingedam (; ) is a city and former municipality in the northeastern Netherlands. Although there is no certainty as to the exact age of Appingedam, historical research demonstrates that the place in which the city would eventually be built had ...

and debouching at

Delfzijl Delfzijl (; ) is a city and former municipality (which now belongs to the municipality of Eemsdelta) 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 Em ...

. During the Middle Ages, the estuary was increasingly diked until totally reclaimed; the streambed of the Fivel is hardly visible any longer.

References

{{coord, 53.395594, 6.782517, display=title Rivers of Groningen (province) Rivers of the Netherlands

Background

See also

References