Leens 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 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 located on old
marsh
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...
land which have been inhabited since the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
. Leens and Tuinsterwierde, which is situated slightly east of the village, lay on a
mound
A mound is a heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded area of topographically higher ...
, an artificial hill that prevented the town from flooding when the land wasn't yet protected by
dikes.
The draining of the marshes is largely due to the work of the Benedictine monks. From their monasteries they built dikes and drained the land.
The Leenster
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
was probably founded in the 8th century by Saint
Ludger. The oldest parts of the Petruskerk date from the 12th century.
In the 20th century Leens was connected to the
Dutch rail network, but that was short lived. the ''Marnelijn'' opened in 1922 and closed in 1940, after which the rails were transported to the
Eastern Front. The station building still stands.
Notable people
Ailke Westerhof was nurse in the WW1 era. She died in the same house in which she had been born; the house in Leens is now a national monument, and the street has been renamed 'Westerhofstraat'.
[Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed: Smederij Westerhof Leens (in Dutch)]
Gallery
File:20110805 Vm Station Leens Gn NL.jpg, The former railway station
File:Leens - Valge 8.jpg, Villa in Leens
File:DeMarren2.jpg, New houses in Leens
File:Gemeentehuis De Marne in Leens.jpg, Former town hall
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Het Hogeland
Populated places in Groningen (province)
Former municipalities of Groningen (province)