Kloosterburen is a village 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

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

. It is located in the municipality of

Het Hogeland Het Hogeland is a municipality in the north of the province of Groningen (province), Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. History The municipality of Het Hogeland was established on 1 January 2019 by merging the municipalities of Bedu ...

. The village developed around a monastery. Kloosterburen was a separate municipality until 1990, when it was merged with

Leens Leens (; ) is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Het Hogeland. Leens was a separate municipality until 1990, when it was merged with Ulrum, Eenrum and Kloosterburen. Brief history Leens is loca ...

Ulrum Ulrum (; ) is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Het Hogeland. History The first time the town was named was as ''Uluringhem'' in the 11th century. Ulrum is sited on two mound A mound is a ...

and

Eenrum Eenrum (; ) is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Het Hogeland, 17 km northwest of the city of Groningen. Eenrum was a separate municipality until 1990, then it was merged with Ulrum, Klooste ...

. During the combining of the four municipalities they were called 'de LEUK gemeenten'. In 2019, it became part of

History

Around 1175, a monastery was established by Taco, a

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...

from . In 1204, the monastery was named after Nijeklooster, a

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

was established at a distance of 15 minutes by foot. A village developed around Oldeklooster which was named Kloosterburen. At the end of the 16th century, Nijeklooster was destroyed by the Protestants. Oldeklooster was closed, and the church became

Dutch Reformed The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal fami ...

, however Oldeklooster is one of the two monasteries which still exist in

. A large part of the population remained

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, and in 1840 permission was given to re-establish a parish. The

neo-gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

Saint Willibrord Church was built in 1868–69 by

Pierre Cuypers Petrus Josephus Hubertus "Pierre" Cuypers (16 May 1827 – 3 March 1921) was a Dutch architect. His name is most frequently associated with the Amsterdam Central Station (1881–1889) and the Rijksmuseum (1876–1885), both in Amsterdam. ...

. The church has a tall tower. Kloosterburen is the most northern place in the Netherlands to celebrate

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

as ''Kronkeldörp''. From 1926 to 1970, the Roosendaal brothers of the Sacred Heart lived and worked in a Kloosterburen convent, which was converted into Hotel Het Klooster in 1970. In 2011, the public library closed down. The village community bought the inventory, and operates a free of charge village library. Kloosterburen was an independent municipality until 1990, when it merged into

De Marne De Marne () is a former municipality in the northeast of the Netherlands. On 1 January 2019 it merged with the municipalities of Bedum, Eemsmond and Winsum to form the new municipality Het Hogeland. Population centres Broek, Eenrum, Hornhu ...

. In 2019, it became part of

Notable people

* Sietje Gravendaal-Tammens (1914-2014), Dutch resistance leader.

Gallery

File:Kerk en toren op verhoogd kerkhof vanuit het noord-oosten - Kloosterburen - 20125942 - RCE.jpg, Protestant Church in 1942 File:Kloostertuin Kloosterburen 21 01 01 710000.jpeg, Monastery garden File:Kloosterbuuren leefstraat (36632214822).jpg, Village street File:Kleasterbuorren, Sint-Willibrordustsjerke.jpg, Saint Willibrord Church

References

External links

* {{Authority control Het Hogeland Populated places in Groningen (province) Former municipalities of Groningen (province) 1170s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire