Goeree-Overflakkee () is the southernmost

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

of 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 ...

South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...

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 separated from Voorne-Putten and Hoeksche Waard by the Haringvliet, from the mainland of

North Brabant North Brabant ( ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, Dutch Brabant or Hollandic Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to ...

by the Volkerak, and from Schouwen-Duiveland by Lake Grevelingen. Since 2013, Goeree-Overflakkee has also been a municipality consisting, from west to east, of the former municipalities of Goedereede,

Dirksland Dirksland () is a village and former municipality on Goeree-Overflakkee Island in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The former municipality had a population of about 8,000 in 2007, and covered an area of about 74 km2 ...

, Middelharnis, and Oostflakkee. The largest towns are Sommelsdijk, Middelharnis, Ouddorp, and Dirksland. Despite being part of the province of South Holland, the island's scenery and dialect are more closely related to

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

than to

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

. On the island they speak a form of Zeelandic, namely in the west and in the east.

History

The island was detached from the mainland when the Haringvliet formed as a result of two major flooding events. The first was in 1216, which breached the dunes of Voorne and created a deep saltwater inlet. In the St. Elizabeth floods of 1421, this inlet connected to the Merwede and became an important estuary of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

and

Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

rivers.

Politics

The

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

of Goeree-Overflakkee has of 31 members which, after the 2022 municipal elections, were divided as follows:

Former municipalities

Goedereede

From west to east the former municipality of Goedereede consists of Ouddorp (with Oostdijk), Goedereede (with Havenhoofd), and Stellendam. Income comes mainly of tourism and fishery. With a long beach nearby, Ouddorp is a tourist attraction and has a number of camping sites. Goedereede and Stellendam both have an extended fishing fleet. The town of Goedereede has many old buildings and a tall church tower. Goedereede is one of two towns on the island that obtained city rights. Stellendam was hit hard in the 1953 storm flood and several monuments in the town commemorate this tragedy. Next to Stellendam lies the Haringvlietdam which shelters the Haringvliet from the North Sea, this dam is part of the Delta Project. On the island side of the dam a 'Delta Expo' provides a guide to the dam.

Dirksland

The former municipality of

consisted of Melissant, Herkingen, and Dirksland. The 1953 flood did not have such an effect on these places, as they are mainly lie on higher ground than the rest of the island. Dirksland was the biggest of the three and also has the only hospital on the island. The Van Weel-Bethesda hospital is one of the smallest in the country, but has an excellent reputation, confirmed by national hospital grade polls. Dirksland is recognizable from a distance by the biggest water tower of the country. The towns are agriculturally focused and also have several camp sites. Dirksland has an inland harbor with a newly restored gate complex. Herkingen lies on the south side of the island and borders the Grevelingenmeer, a saltwater lake that has been disconnected directly from the North Sea by the Brouwersdam, but still connects to the Oosterschelde which is saltwater. The Grevelingenmeer is a large watersports area with the main recreational areas on Schouwen-Duiveland. Herkingen is trying to join in with the tourism industry and has quite a large yachting harbor. The town of Herkingen currently hosts several of the biggest modern windmills in the country.

Middelharnis

The former municipality of Middelharnis, forming the center of the island, was the biggest of the four with over 17,000 inhabitants. It consisted of Sommelsdijk, Middelharnis,

Nieuwe-Tonge Nieuwe-Tonge is a village in the Netherlands, Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Goeree-Overflakkee, and lies about 13 km south of Hellevoetsluis. History The village was first mentioned in 1480 or 1481 as ...

, and Stad aan 't Haringvliet. Middelharnis has a shopping area called ''D'n Diek''. This shopping center settled itself on a dike which used to be the last barrier for the towns from the Haringvliet. Now extensive, this dike and the area is enjoying a huge face lift. On Fridays in the summer months, there are what are called the Diekdagen (Dike days in English), with special activities like sports car racing and bicycle racing in the middle of the town. The town hosts a public high school and a Christian high school. Middelharnis has an inland harbor with a connection to the Haringvliet. In Middelharnis the old municipality building lies on the main street. In Sommelsdijk there is a sport complex with swimming pool, called ''De Staver''. Stad aan 't Haringvliet has a small harbor with a beach. Like most of the towns on the island the old windmill has been preserved. Nieuwe-Tonge's main entry roads are the two dikes that form the edges of the town.

Oostflakkee

The former municipality of Oostflakkee consists of: Den Bommel (with Zuidzijde), Oude-Tonge, Ooltgensplaat, Achthuizen, and Langstraat. Oude-Tonge was the main town of the former municipality with a considerable industrial area. It also has a large bus station. Oude-Tonge suffered most in 1953 flood and was visited by the queen in 2003 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of this event. Den Bommel has a harbor and beach on the shores of the Haringvliet. A few kilometres east of Den Bommel is Zuidzijde, a very small town. Ooltgensplaat is the most eastward town on the island with a harbor on the Volkerak. The town has a very old municipal building. This town hosts the start and finish of De Omloop – an annual 100+ km walk around the island within a 24-hour period. It is held in the latter half of August and attracts thousands, both participants and spectators. Achthuizen and Langstraat are other small towns nearby Ooltgensplaat.

Notable people

* Jan van Os (1744 in Middelharnis – 1808) a Dutch painter * Laurens J. Bol (1898 in Ooltgensplaat – 1994) an art historian, specialized in

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands which roughly lasted from 1588, when the Dutch Republic was established, to 1672, when the '' Rampjaar'' occurred. During this period, Dutch trade, scientific development ...

painters * Aart Alblas (1918 in Middelharnis – 1944 in Mauthausen concentration camp) highly decorated Dutch resistance member * Tomas Ross (born 1944 in Den Bommel) a Dutch writer of historical criminal thrillers * Elco Brinkman (born 1948 in Dirksland) a retired Dutch politician and businessman. *

Toine van Peperstraten Toine van Peperstraten (born 18 December 1967 in Achthuizen, South Holland) is a Dutch sports journalist, best known for hosting the Nederlandse Omroep Stichting, NOS TV sports program Studio Sport. Career Being a celebrity, he also participa ...

(born 1967 in Achthuizen) a Dutch sports journalist IMDb Database
retrieved 06 July 2019 * Barbara Baarsma (born 1969) a Dutch economist, grew up in Goeree-Overflakkee * Liesbeth Zegveld (born 1970 in Ridderkerk) a Dutch lawyer, legal expert and professor

Sport

* Jan Pieterse (born 1942 in Oude-Tonge) a former professional racing cyclist, gold medallist in the Men's 100 km Team Trial at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

* Arie Luyendyk (born 1953 in Sommelsdijk) a Dutch former auto racing driver, winner of the 1990 and 1997 Indianapolis 500 races * Juliette Bergmann (born 1958 in Vlaardingen) a Dutch female bodybuilding champion * Annemarieke van Rumpt (born 1980 in Middelharnis) a rower, bronze medallist with the Dutch eights in the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Gorée in Senegal

The island of Gorée in

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

, notorious in the 18th century as a center for the slave trade, got its name from the Dutch Goeree at the time when it was ruled by the Netherlands (from 1588 to 1664).

Gallery

File:De Hervormde kerk van Nieuwe-Tonge..JPG, Reformed Church at Nieuwe-Tonge File:Lighthouse Goedereede.jpg, Lighthouse at Goedereede File:Op de Kaai in Oude-Tonge..JPG, Quay in Oude-Tonge File:Haven van Herkingen - Herkingen - 20535646 - RCE.jpg, Port at Herkingen

References

External links

* {{Authority control Islands of South Holland Municipalities of South Holland Municipalities of the Netherlands established in 2013 Regions of South Holland Regions of the Netherlands Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta Islands of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta