Kolham is a village in the Dutch province of

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

. It is part of the municipality of

Midden-Groningen Midden-Groningen (Gronings: ''Midden-Grunnen'') is a municipality with a population of 60,953 in the province of Groningen, Netherlands. The municipality was formed by the merger of former municipalities of Hoogezand-Sappemeer, Slochteren and M ...

. In 1959,

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon ...

was discovered at Kolham. Later, it was revealed that

Groningen gas field The Groningen gas field is a natural gas field in Groningen province in the northeastern part of the Netherlands. With an estimated 2,740 billion cubic metres of recoverable natural gas it is the largest natural gas field in Europe and one of the ...

was the largest natural gas field in Europe.

History

Kolham was originally a road village on a sandy ridge. It was first mentioned as Hamme in 1266. The suffix -ham indicates silted land in a bend of a river. "Kol(d)" is later addition, and most likely refers to a cold and windy spot. The Dutch Reformed Church was built in 1641, and contains 15th century parts. Kolham was a separate parish, but belonged to the ''

heerlijkheid A ''heerlijkheid'' (a Dutch word; pl. ''heerlijkheden''; also called ''heerschap''; Latin: ''Dominium'') was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas in the Dutch-speaking Low Countries before 1800 ...

'' of

Slochteren Slochteren () is a village and former municipality with a population of 15,546 in the province of Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. On 1 January 2018, Slochteren merged with Hoogezand-Sappemeer and Menterwolde, forming the municipal ...

until 1794. It became part of the municipality of Slochteren. Kolham used to be a

linear settlement A linear settlement is a (normally small to medium-sized) settlement or group of buildings that is formed in a long line. Many of these settlements are formed along a transport route, such as a road, river, or canal. Others form due to physical r ...

along the main road. In the early 20th century, houses were built along the side roads. In 1929, a train station was built along the railway line to Weiwerd. The station and railway line closed in 1941. The hamlet of used to belong to Kolham. In 1943, the Winschoterdiep was dug, and Foxham was transferred to

Hoogezand Hoogezand is a town in the municipality of Midden-Groningen, in the province of Groningen in northeast Netherlands. History The name refers to a higher sanded ''(Hooge Sandt)'' place in the peatlands cut through when the Winschoterdiep cha ...

. On 29 May 1959, the was performing a test drill on the land of farmer Kornelis Boon. At a depth of the drill hit gas, and a large flame appeared which could be seen in the city of Groningen. In 1960, gas was discovered near

Delfzijl Delfzijl (; gos, Delfsiel) is a city and former municipality with a population of 25,651 in the province of Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. Delfzijl was a sluice between the Delf and the Ems, which became fortified settlement in ...

in the same layer. The

turned out to be the largest natural gas field in Europe. Boon was paid for the drill and a parcel of his land, however the gas benefits went to the State of the Netherlands. In 2017, the municipality of Slochteren merged into

Gallery

File:Korenmolen De Entreprise, Kolham.jpg, Windmill the Enterprise File:Voormalig station Kolham.jpg, Former train station File:6620.Kropswolde.Westerpark.Hoogezand.Duurswold.Kolham.Uiterdijk.jpg, Nature near Kolham File:Slochteren Gasmolecule 02.JPG, ''Gasmolecule'' sculpture by (2009)

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Groningen (province) Midden-Groningen