Nieuw-Amsterdam () is a village in the northeast

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 ...

, in the Dutch 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 ...

. It borders the village of

Veenoord Veenoord is a village in the Netherlands and it is part of the Emmen municipality in Drenthe. It forms a single urban area with Nieuw-Amsterdam. Vincent van Gogh stayed in the Scholte Inn during his Drenthe period. History Veenoord translates ...

, the twin village of Nieuw-Amsterdam. Since 1998 Nieuw-Amsterdam and

are part of the municipality of Emmen.

History

In 1850, a group of investors from Amsterdam bought a tract of

peatland A peatland is a type of wetland whose soils consist of Soil organic matter, organic matter from decaying plants, forming layers of peat. Peatlands arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, du ...

and named it after their own city: Amsterdamscheveld ("field of Amsterdam"). A settlement, that was built near these lands several years later, was called Nieuw-Amsterdam. The settlement developed itself quickly because of the peat trade.

therefore acquired the nickname ''Drents California''. The only difference was that there was no gold in the ground, but peat. Important for the development of the village was that it is situated along the canal called the Verlengde Hoogeveensevaart. The "Hervormde kerk" was erected in 1873 by the architect H. C. Winters. The "gereformeerde kerk" with its paraboloidal roof was built in 1925, based on the design by architect W. van Straten. The names of both churches can be translated in English as "Reformed Church"

Vincent van Gogh

Most of the time

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

spent in Drenthe, in autumn 1883, he lodged with ''Scholte'' in Nieuw-Amsterdam. Today, Scholte's lodging house is known as the '' Van Gogh House'' (''Van Gogh Huis''). Recently, the municipality of Emmen planned to demolish the building, but at the last moment this decision was reversed. Today, it houses a restaurant and a museum. The '' Drawbridge in Nieuw-Amsterdam'' is probably the most popular work Van Gogh executed during his stay in Nieuw-Amsterdam. Even more popular is the oral tradition concerning Van Gogh at whatever place he stayed for a while. Thus, in Nieuw-Amsterdam he is said to have paid the rent with his paintings, but the landlord could not estimate their value and burnt them.

Transportation

Railway station: Nieuw Amsterdam The village is located at the train track from

Zwolle Zwolle () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the Capital city, capital of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel ...

to Emmen. This track was opened in 1905 and was constructed by the NOLS. Before the train, Nieuw-Amsterdam already had two steam tram connections: the DSM station was opened in 1899 and the EDS station in 1903.

Notable people

* Bas Sibum (born 1982), footballer

References

*Dijk, Wout J., & van der Sluis, Meent W.: ''De Drentse tijd van Vincent van Gogh'', Boon uitgeverij, Groningen 2001

External links

Dorpsarchief Nieuw-Amsterdam/Veenoord

Van Gogh Drenthe
{{Authority control Populated places in Drenthe Emmen, Netherlands