Orvelte () is a village in the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

province of

Drenthe Drenthe () is a provinces of the Netherlands, 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 (province), Groningen to the north, and the G ...

. It is a part of the municipality of

Midden-Drenthe Midden-Drenthe () is a municipality in the northeastern Netherlands. The municipality was created in 1998, in a merger of the former municipalities of Beilen, Smilde, and Westerbork. Between 1998 and 2000, the name of the municipality was Midden ...

, and lies about 18 km northeast of

Hoogeveen Hoogeveen (; nds-nl, 't Ogeveine or '' 't Oveine'') is a municipality and a town in the Dutch province of Drenthe. Population centres Elim, Fluitenberg, Hoogeveen and Noordscheschut, which still have the canals which used to be throughout ...

. Orvelte presents itself as a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and th ...

village. There is a

saw mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ( dimen ...

, a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

and a

wooden shoe Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

maker, all open to the public. A number of events are held throughout the year featuring traditional Dutch activities.

History

The village was first mentioned in 1362 as "in Oervelde", and probably means "other side of the (heath) field". Orvelte is an ''

esdorp __NOTOC__ An ''Angerdorf'' (plural: ''Angerdörfer'') is a type of village that is characterised by the houses and farmsteads being laid out around a central grassed area, the ''anger'' (from the Old High German ''angar'' =pasture or grassy place ...

'' which developed in the Middle Ages on the road from

Westerbork Camp Westerbork ( nl, Kamp Westerbork, german: Durchgangslager Westerbork, Drents: ''Börker Kamp; Kamp Westerbörk'' ), also known as Westerbork transit camp, was a Nazi transit camp in the province of Drenthe in the Northeastern Netherlands, d ...

Zweeloo Zweeloo is a village in the municipality of Coevorden, located in the province of Drenthe, The Netherlands. Zweeloo was a separate municipality from 1819 to 1998, when it was merged with Coevorden.Ad van der Meer and Onno Boonstra, "Repertorium v ...

. It may have been a daughter settlement of Westerbork. The farm Bruntingerhof was built between 1560 and 1650, and is the oldest extant farm in Drenthe. It used to be located in the hamlet of

Bruntinge Bruntinge is a hamlet in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Midden-Drenthe, and lies about 13 km northeast of Hoogeveen Hoogeveen (; nds-nl, 't Ogeveine or '' 't Oveine'') is a municipality and a town in the ...

, but was moved to Orvelte in the 1960s. Orvelte was home to 140 people in 1840. In 1967, the village was designated a protected site. It became a museum village and attempts were made to return the village to the layout of 1830. The ''brink'' (village square) has been restored and historical farms and barns from other villages which were scheduled to be demolished, have been purchased and moved to Orvelte. The former toll house was built around 1870 and is in use as a museum and tourist information site. Cars are no longer allowed in the village. A horse tram has been made available as public transport.

Gallery

File:Scrooge Melkwegje-1 Orvelte Drenthe Nederland.JPG, Shed in Orvelte File:Museumdorp Orvelte Drenthe Nederland-01.JPG, Farm in Orvelte File:Oranjekanaal bij Orvelte.jpg, Canal near Orvelte

References

External links

* {{Authority control Midden-Drenthe Populated places in Drenthe