Lutjegast () is a
village
A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
in the municipality of
Westerkwartier in
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 ...
,
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 ...
. It had a population of around 1,125 in January 2017.
History
The name ''Lutjegast'' originates from
Gronings
Gronings (; or Grönnegs), is a collective name for some Low Saxon dialects spoken in the province of Groningen and around the Groningen border in Drenthe and Friesland. Gronings and the strongly related varieties in East Frisia have a stro ...
in which ''lutje'' means small or little and a ''ga(a)st'' is a higher, sandy ridge in an otherwise swampy area. The village was first mentioned in 1459 as "op de Lutkegast". Lutjegast is a road village which developed on a sandy ridge.
The Dutch Reformed church was built in 1877 and was restored in 1922. The
Reformed Church
Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...
is a cruciform church built in 1922 without a tower in
expressionist
Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
style.
Lutjegast was the birthplace of the explorer
Abel Tasman
Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch sea explorer, seafarer and exploration, explorer, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first European to reach New ...
. He is memorialised in town by a monument, plaque and street name. In 2014, a museum dedicated to Abel Tasman opened in the village house.
Until 1828, a manor house named "Rikkerdaborg" stood in Lutjegast. Its most famous occupant was Bernard Johan Prott who was the commander of
Bourtange
Bourtange (; Gronings: ''Boertang'') is a village with a population of 430 in the municipality of Westerwolde in the Netherlands. It is situated in the region Westerwolde in the east of the province of Groningen near the German border. Fort Bou ...
in 1672.
Christoph Bernhard von Galen
Christoph Bernhard Freiherr von Galen (12 October 1606, in Drensteinfurt – 19 September 1678) was Prince-bishop of Münster. He was born into a noble Westphalian family.
Background, education and conversion to Roman Catholicism
Christoph Be ...
, the
Prince-bishop of Münster
A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some Secularity, secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to ''Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinals. Since 1951, the sol ...
had allegedly offered Prott
ƒ200,000.- to take Bourtange, however Prott refused the offer and von Galen was unable to take the fortress by force.
Lutjegast was home to 294 people in 1840.
The village used to be part of the municipality of
Grootegast
Grootegast (; ; ) is a village and former municipality in the northeastern Netherlands. It is the sister city of Kingston, Tasmania. The municipality was merged into the municipality of Westerkwartier on 1 January 2019.
Geography
The former ...
. In 2019, it was merged into
Westerkwartier.
Notable people
*
Abel Tasman
Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch sea explorer, seafarer and exploration, explorer, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first European to reach New ...
(ca.1603–1659), explorer, first European to discover
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
.
*
Arjen Lubach (born 1979), comedian, author, music producer and TV presenter.
*
Klaasje Meijer (born 1995), singer, actress and flautist
Gallery
File:Beckeringh - Huis Rikkerda, Lutjegast.jpg, Rikkerdaborg
File:Lutjegast - hervormde pastorie.jpg, Former clergy house
File:Lutjegast 15 50 21 609000.jpeg, View on Lutjegast
File:Lytsegast (Grinslân), kristlik grifformearde tsjerke.jpg, Reformed church in Lutjegast
References
External links
*
*
Lutjegast Online
{{Authority control
Westerkwartier
Westerkwartier (municipality)
Populated places in Groningen (province)