Wenum-Wiesel is a twin village in the municipality of

Apeldoorn Apeldoorn (; Dutch Low Saxon: ) is a municipality and city in the province of Gelderland in the centre of the Netherlands. The municipality of Apeldoorn, including the villages of Beekbergen, Loenen (Apeldoorn), Loenen, Ugchelen and Hoenderloo ...

, in the province of

Gelderland Gelderland ( , ), also known as Guelders ( ) in English, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Nethe ...

in the

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 1978, the hamlets of Wenum and Wiesel merged into a village.

History

Wenum was first attested in 1335 as "in der Merck to Wenen", however the

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

was already mentioned in 1313. The etymology of the name is unclear. Wiesel was first attested in 1337 as Wiessel, and means pasture near a forest. In 1684,

William III of Orange William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 167 ...

bought approximately of forest and heath in the area as a

crown land Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...

. The land included the village of Wiesel. He intended to build his palace in Hoog Soeren, but changed his mind and bought

Het Loo Palace Paleis Het Loo ( , meaning "The wikt:lea#English, Lea") is a palace in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, built by the House of Orange-Nassau. History The symmetry, symmetrical Dutch Baroque architecture, Dutch Baroque building was designed by Jacob Roman ...

in Apeldoorn. In 1840, Wenum was home to 256 people, and Wiesel to 243 people. In 1876, the

Amsterdam–Zutphen railway The Amsterdam–Zutphen railway is a railway line in the Netherlands running from Amsterdam, North Holland to Zutphen, Gelderland via the province of Utrecht. It passes through the cities of Hilversum, Amersfoort and Apeldoorn. It is also inf ...

was completed, and

William III of the Netherlands William III (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Willem Alexander Paul Frederik Lodewijk''; English: ''William Alexander Paul Frederick Louis''; 19 February 1817 – 23 November 1890) was King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1849 until ...

wanted a side track to his palace. In 1887, the Apeldoorn–Zwolle railway line was completed and partially used the side track. A railway stop was constructed at Wenum. The station closed in 1938. In 1840, the

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

was built in Wenum. The current windmill dates from 1913. In 1978, the hamlets of Wenum and Wiesel merged into the twin village Wenum-Wiesel. The hamlets are still somewhat separated. The place name signs are chaotic and sometimes use the combined name, or the individual hamlet. The village has a combined school, and village council.

Gallery

File:Wenum Wenumermolen 05.JPG, Windmill File:Klein Cannenburgh 24, aanzicht (1821) - Wenum - 20253450 - RCE.jpg, Klein Cannenburgh File:7.3 Wenumse Watermolen.jpg, Watermill of Wenum File:Wenum-papegaaiweg-07080013.jpg, Farm in Wenum

References

{{Authority control Apeldoorn Populated places in Gelderland