Grootegast (; ; ) is a village 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 northeastern

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 the sister city of

Kingston, Tasmania Kingston is a town on the outskirts of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Nestled 12 km south of the city between and around several hills, Kingston is the seat of the Kingborough Council, and today serves as the gateway between Hobart and the ...

. The municipality was merged into the municipality of Westerkwartier on 1 January 2019.

Geography

The former municipality contained the population centres: Doezum, Enumatil, Faan, Grootegast, Kornhorn,

Lutjegast Lutjegast () is a village in the municipality of Westerkwartier (municipality), Westerkwartier in Groningen (province), Groningen, Netherlands. It had a population of around 1,125 in January 2017. History The name ''Lutjegast'' originates from Gr ...

, Niekerk, Oldekerk, Opende,

Sebaldeburen Sebaldeburen (; ) is a village in the Westerkwartier municipality in the Dutch province of Groningen. It had a population of around 565 in 2021. History The village was first mentioned in the 13th century as , and means "settlement of Sibald ...

. In some of these villages, they still speak the

West Frisian language West Frisian (; ), or simply Frisian ( ; ), is a West Germanic language spoken mostly in the province of Friesland () in the north of the Netherlands, mostly by those of Frisians, Frisian ancestry. It is the most widely spoken of the Frisian ...

History

The village originated around the year 1000 (as ''Majorgast'') and was profiled from 1400 onwards as the counterpart of

. The village contains a 17th-century church, the so-called ('Little White Church'). This church was restored in 1829. Grootegast was the main village of the former municipality. The name of the village refers to a or , a higher, sandy ridge in an otherwise swampy area. is Dutch for 'large'.

Dialect

The ''Grootegasters'' dialect, or '' Westerkwartiers'', is clearly a borderline case. Linguistically, the influences of three provinces are noticeable: the dialect is a variant of Gronings, but in terms of intelligibility it is more like Drents; however, the accent and grammar sound rather Frisian, which can be explained by the fact that almost all of Lutjegast still spoke Frisian 100 years ago. Being a border village of Lutjegast, Frisian influence is still noticeable today in the number of villagers of Frisian origin and the many business and social contacts with

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 ...

Notable people

* Cornelius Van Til (1895–1987), theologian * Ron Groenewoud (1937), football player

References

External links

* Westerkwartier (municipality) Former municipalities of Groningen (province) Populated places in Groningen (province) Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2019 {{Groningen-geo-stub