Gerkesklooster () is a village in

Achtkarspelen Achtkarspelen () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Friesland in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, it had a population of 27,900. History The name ''Achtkarspelen'', literally me ...

in the province of

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 ...

, 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 forms, together with Stroobos, the double village Gerkesklooster-Stroobos. The double village had a population of around 1144 in 2017, with 812 in Gerkesklooster and 332 in Stroobos.

History

The village was first mentioned in 1240 as "in Wigarathorpe1", and in 1393, it was called Gherkescloester, meaning "monastery of Gerke". In 1240, Gerke Harkema founded monastery Jeruzalem in the village. In 1580, during the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, the monastery was demolished except for the brewery which was turned into a church. The current serves as the Protestant church, and has been extensively modified. After a

sluice A sluice ( ) is a water channel containing a sluice gate, a type of lock to manage the water flow and water level. There are various types of sluice gates, including flap sluice gates and fan gates. Different depths are calculated when design s ...

was built in the canal from Dokkum to

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 ...

, a second settlement developed called Stroobos. There is an American wind mill from 1923 near the village which serves as a pumping station to remove excess water from the ''

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrology, hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as levee, dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclamation, Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a ...

''. In 1840, Gerkesklooster was home to 342 people. The settlement of Stroobos used to be divided between Friesland and Groningen. In 1993, the entire village was transferred to Friesland.

Gallery

File:Huisjes bij de kerk. Gerkesklooster..JPG, Houses of Gerkesklooster File:Gerkeskleaster, Herfoarme Tsjerke, putto.jpg, Marble statue near the Dutch Reformed Church File:Friesche Vaart, Kalkoven - Gerkesklooster - 20077450 - RCE.jpg, Lime kiln near the canal File:Jacobus Stellingwerff - Gezicht op het Gerkesklooster ofwel Klooster Jeruzalem te Gerkesklooster in Achtkarspelen, 1722.jpg, Drawing of monastery Jeruzalem (1722)

References

{{Authority control Achtkarspelen Populated places in Friesland