Hoornaar is a town 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

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. ...

, in the

Alblasserwaard The Alblasserwaard () is a polder in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is mainly known for the windmills of Kinderdijk, located near the village of Kinderdijk in the polder's northwestern part. History The first human inhabitant ...

, north of the river

Merwede The Merwede (; etymology uncertain, possibly derived from the Old Dutch ''merwe'' or ''merowe'', a word meaning "wide water") is the name of several connected stretches of river in the Netherlands, between the cities of Woudrichem, Dordrecht and ...

and south of the river Lek. It is a part of the municipality of

Molenlanden Molenlanden () is a municipality in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. The municipality was created on 1 January 2019 by merging the municipalities of Giessenlanden en Molenwaard. It is located east of Rotterdam along the Lek. Th ...

, and lies about 5 km north 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 ...

. In 2007, the town of Hoornaar had 1655 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 0.24 km².Statistics Netherlands (CBS)
''Bevolkingskernen in Nederland 2001''
. (Statistics are for the continuous built-up area). The statistical area "Hoornaar", which also can include the peripheral parts of the village, as well as the surrounding countryside, has a population of around 1580.Statistics Netherlands (CBS)
''Statline: Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2003-2005''
As of 1 January 2005. Hoornaar was a separate municipality between 1817 and 1986, when it became part of

Giessenlanden Giessenlanden () is a former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covered an area of of which is water, and had a population of as of . The municipality included communities of Arkel, Giesse ...

. The town hall of the municipality Giessenlanden lies within the town's borders. The small rivers Kromme Giessen, Giessen and Kleine Vaart flow through the town. The name Hoornaar is derived from Hornedamme. A 'Horne' is a curve in a river. Years ago the river

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 ...

joined the river Giessen behind the village of

Hoogblokland Hoogblokland is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Molenlanden, and lies about 4 km north of Gorinchem Gorinchem ( ), pronunciation respelling, also spelled Gorkum, is a city and municip ...

. There a dam was built and a settlement originated. Because of the existence of so-called ''donken'', which are hills of sand made by glacial sedimentation, and the lack of them elsewhere, it is known that Hoornaar has a long history. The history of Hoornaar is quiet. There was a raid on the village in 1481. In the 11th century an attack of Gofried of Lotharingen was prohibited by count

Dirk III of Holland A dirk is a long-bladed thrusting dagger.Chisholm, Hugh (ed.); "Dagger", ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 11th ed., Vol. VII, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press (1910), p. 729. Historically, it gained its name from the Highland dirk (Scott ...

. In the 19th century Hoornaar became depended on the harvest of cannabis for its fibers to make rope with. Later on Hoornaar became more depended on potato and beet harvest. Besides stockbreeding, cheese trade and export companies became important to the village economy.

References

Populated places in South Holland Former municipalities of South Holland Molenlanden {{SouthHolland-geo-stub