Schildwolde (

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 ...

: ''Schewôl'') is a village in the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

province of

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 ...

. 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 ...

. It is known for its detached church tower from the 13th century.

History

Schildwolde was first mentioned in the 10th or 11th century as Scelduualda. The origin of the name is unclear and probably means swampy forest. In 1204, the

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...

monastery of Gratiae Sanctae Mariae was founded in Schildwolde. It was originally a double monastery for monks and nuns. Later, only the

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

remained. In 1223 or 1224, there was a dispute between the monastery of Schildwolde and the monastery of , and angry peasants burned down the monastery and church, but the tower remained standing. The current tower displays 1289 as its year of construction, however it contains older parts, and the year was probably added during a 1829 reconstruction. The tower is tall, and has a square base. The convent was destroyed in 1594. In 1686, a

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal famil ...

was built next to tower, however the two buildings are detached. Every year, from 20:00 on 31 December until 08:00 on 1 January, the bells in the tower are rung continuously to chase away evil spirits. On the night of 1964 to 1965, one of the bells was torn after 12 hours of service, and had to be repaired. In 1909, Schildwolde had a population of 897 people and was part of the municipality 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 ...

. Between 1929 and 1941, there was a joint railway station with

Hellum Hellum (Gronings: Helm) is a village in the municipality of Midden-Groningen, the Netherlands. History The village was first mentioned in 1282 as de Hellum. The etymology is unclear. Hellum is a road village which developed in the 12th century ...

in Schildwolde on the line to

Weiwerd Weiwerd (; ) is a former village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is a part of the municipality of Eemsdelta, and lies about 27 km east of Groningen.''ANWB Topografische Atlas Nederland'', Topografische Dienst and ANWB, 2005. Formerly ...

. In 2017, it became part of the municipality of

Notable people

Hendrik Goeman Borgesius Hendrik Goeman Borgesius (11 January 1847, Schildwolde, Slochteren – 18 January 1917, The Hague) was a Dutch politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands from 1877 until 1917, representing respectively Wi ...

(1847–1917), politician and former Speaker of the House of Representatives

Gallery

File:Duivenslagpoort Schildwolde 01.JPG, Gate to a farm from 1695 File:SchildwoldeRM513614.jpg, House of Jeldinga File:Dorpsvlag Schildwolde.png, Village flag of 2019 File:SchildwoldeRM33815.jpg, Toll house

References

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