Klazienaveen is a town to the southeast of Emmen 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

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Jan ...

. It is located approx from the German border. Klazienaveen started as a

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

colony owned by Willem Albert Scholten. It has been named after Klaassien Sluis, the wife of Scholten.

History

In 1874,

Willem Albert Scholten Willem Albert Scholten (6 October 1819 – 1 May 1895) was a Dutch industrialist and landowner. He established the potato starch factory Eureka in Foxhol which laid the foundation of an industrial empire. Scholten would own 24 factories in Europe. ...

bought the Smeulveen to exploit the

. In 1890, Scholten offered the skipper Jan Adde Hazewinkel a flag as the first person to transport the peat. In 1899, a village appeared along the canal. In 1903, Scholten's son Jan Evert renamed Smeulveen and the village Klazienaveen after his mother Klaassien Sluis. It is one of the two villages in the Netherlands named after a non-royal woman. In 1932, it was home to 2,327 people. In 1921, the Purit factory opened and produces Norit (

activated carbon Activated carbon, also called activated charcoal, is a form of carbon commonly used to filter contaminants from water and air, among many other uses. It is processed (activated) to have small, low-volume pores that greatly increase the surface ar ...

). On 23 March 1945, the factory was bombed by the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

causing eight deaths among the factory workers. The clock in the engine room stopped and has remained as a reminder. Since 2012, it is owned by

Cabot Corporation Cabot Corporation is an American specialty chemicals and performance materials company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The company operates in over 20 countries with 36 manufacturing plants, eight research and development facilities and ...

. After World War II, Klazienaveen started expanding rapidly. In the 1960s,

greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...

cultivation started in Klazienaveen. The town can be reached via the A37 motorway.

Notable people

* Ruben Roosken (born 2000), footballer *

Hanja Maij-Weggen Johanna Rika Hermanna "Hanja" Maij-Weggen (; ; born 29 December 1943) is a retired Dutch people, Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). Political career From 1989 until 1994 she was Ministry of Transport, Public Works and ...

(born 1943), politician and former Queen's Commissioner of North Brabant

Gallery

File:Kerk-Henricus.jpg, Church in Klazienaveen File:De Veenarbeider2 Bert Kiewit Klazienaveen.jpg, Peat worker by Bert Kiewit File:Noritfabriek Klazienaveen.jpg, Norit factory File:Klazienaveen winkelcentrum 't Schip foto21 2016-09-25 16.01.jpg, Shopping mall

References

External links

*
Local news site
(in Dutch) Populated places in Drenthe Emmen, Netherlands 1899 establishments in the Netherlands {{Drenthe-geo-stub