Koekange is a village in the

De Wolden De Wolden () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the northeastern Netherlands in the province of Drenthe. Population centres Topography ''Dutch topographic map of the municipality of De Wolden, June 2015'' Notable people ...

municipality of the 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 ...

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 ...

History

Koekange was founded by the '' heer'' of Echten to excavate the

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 ...

. It was first mentioned in 1290 as Kukange, and refers to

Cockaigne Cockaigne or Cockayne () is a land of plenty in medieval myth, an imaginary place of luxury and ease, comfort and pleasure, opposite to the harshness of medieval peasant life. In poems like ''The Land of Cockaigne'', it is a land of contrarie ...

, the mythical land of plenty. It was a road village on the dike along the Koekanger Aa. The first church was built in 1331, and was replaced by a new church in 1834. In 1840, there were 243 people living in the southern village and 263 in the northern village. The two parts merged into a single settlement. In 1870, it was once again split into two due to the construction of the

Meppel–Groningen railway The Meppel–Groningen railway is an important railway line in the Netherlands running from Meppel to Groningen, passing through Hoogeveen, Beilen and Assen. The line was opened in 1870. It is also known as the ''Staatslijn'' "C". Stations The ma ...

. A railway station was opened in 1870, but closed again in 1940.

References

Populated places in Drenthe De Wolden {{Drenthe-geo-stub