Schoonebeek is a village in the
Dutch 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 located in the municipality of
Emmen, about 12 km (7 mi) south of that city. Schoonebeek was a separate municipality from 1884 to 1997, when it merged with Emmen. The area is home of the largest
onshore Onshore can mean:
*An onshore company is a legal entity that is incorporated in a country to operate a business there; the opposite of offshoring (including reshoring
Offshoring is the relocation of a business process from one country to another ...
oil field in Europe; known as the
Schoonebeek oil field.
History
Schoonebeek is a village which developed on a sandy ridge in the
moorland.
It was first mentioned in 1341 as "van Sconebeke" and means "brook with clean water". The Saint Nicolas Church was built in 1419, but was demolished in 1951.
The economy of the village mainly depended on the exploitation of
peat
Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...
.
In 1809, it became part of the municipality of
Dalen.
In 1840, it was home to 629 people.
Schoonebeek became an independent municipality in 1884.
In 1943, oil was discovered in the neighbourhood of Schoonebeek. The population successfully sabotaged the wells which prevented the Germans from knowing much oil was underneath the ground. After the war,
pumpjack
A pumpjack is the overground drive for a reciprocating piston pump in an oil well.
It is used to mechanically lift liquid out of the well if there is not enough bottom hole pressure for the liquid to flow all the way to the surface. The arr ...
s became a feature of the landscape around the village. The discovery led to an increase in population, and the construction of new neighbourhoods. In 1998, it became part of the municipality of
Emmen.
Notable people
*
Maruschka Detmers (born 1962), actress
*
Erik Regtop
Hendrik Jan "Erik" Regtop (born 16 February 1968) is a Dutch retired professional association footballer, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. During his playing career, Regtop played professionally in the Netherla ...
(born 1968), footballer
*
Albert Zwaveling
Albert Zwaveling (born 21 July 1927) is a Dutch surgeon specializing in oncology, who worked as a professor at Leiden University between 1972 and 1992. He implemented chemotherapy in Dutch surgery A. Zwaveling, PhD thesis Leiden University, 1960 � ...
(born 1927), surgeon specializing in oncology
Gallery
File:Wolfshoeve Schoonebeek.JPG, ''Wolfshoeve''
File:Schoonebeek Turfcafe.jpg, Peat factory
File:Schoonebeek -01.jpg, Farm with well
File:Schoonebeker Diep4.jpg, Drilling for oil
References
{{Authority control
Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 1998
Populated places in Drenthe
Former municipalities of Drenthe
Emmen, Netherlands