Heukelum is a city in the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

province of

Gelderland Gelderland ( , ), also known as Guelders ( ) in English, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Nethe ...

. It is a part of the municipality of

West Betuwe West Betuwe is a municipality in the Dutch province of Gelderland. West Betuwe had 51.948 inhabitants on 1 January 2022. The municipality was formed on 1 January 2019 by the merger of the municipalities Geldermalsen, Neerijnen, Lingewaal. To ...

, and lies about 8 km northeast of

Gorinchem Gorinchem ( ), pronunciation respelling, also spelled Gorkum, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. It had a population of in . The munici ...

. It received

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

in 1391.

History

It was first mentioned in 996 as Ukele, and means "settlement on the height". Heukelum is an elongated ''

esdorp __NOTOC__ An ''Angerdorf'' (plural: ''Angerdörfer'') is a type of village that is characterised by the houses and farmsteads being laid out around a central grassed area, the ''Anger (meadow), anger'' (from the Old High German ''angar'' =pasture ...

'' which developed on the river bank of the

Linge The Linge is a river in the Betuwe that is 99.8 km long, which makes it one of the longest rivers that flow entirely within the Netherlands. The river starts near the village of Doornenburg near the German border. A legend tells us that i ...

in the Early Middle Ages. The Dutch Reformed church developed in stages between 1350 and 1510 to replace its predecessor from around 1250. The tower and nave were destroyed by fire in 1699. Part of the defensive works around the city from the 16th and 17th century are still present. Heukelum Castle (also Merckenburg Castle) was originally built before 1286 by the van Arkel family as one of nine castles to defend the

Land van Arkel The Land van Arkel was a fief of the Counts of Holland, and was managed by the Lords of Arkel until 1412. The territory was bordered by the river Merwede on the south, and the river Linge on the east. The northern border might have reached as far a ...

against Holland and Gelderland. It is the only castle which remained after the (1401-1412). In 1672, it was severely damaged by the French. The castle changed ownership several times, but is still private property. Heukelum was flooded many times during its history. The last times were in 1939 and 1945 when the area around Heelsum was inundated to thwart the advance of the German and Allied armies respectively. Heukelum was home to 535 people in 1840. Heukelum was a separate municipality until 1986, when it became part of

Vuren Vuren is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of West Betuwe, and is located about 5 km east of Gorinchem. Vuren was a separate municipality until 1986, when it merged with Asperen, Herwijnen, and H ...

. The area was part of

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. ...

until then, and is now part of

Gallery

File:Oude smitse Heukelum.jpg, Former forge File:Heukelum, kerk foto1 2007-03-15 16.49.JPG, Dutch Reformed church File:Heukelum 03.jpg, Heukelum Castle File:Heukelum.jpg, Street view

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Gelderland Former municipalities of South Holland Cities in the Netherlands West Betuwe