Winterswijk (; also known as ''Winterswiek'' or ''Wenters'') is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

and a town in the eastern

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 ...

. It has a population of and is situated in the

Achterhoek The Achterhoek (; ) is a cultural region and COROP area in the Eastern Netherlands. Its name (meaning "rear-corner") is geographically appropriate because the area lies in the easternmost part of the province of Gelderland and therefore in the e ...

, which lies in the easternmost part of 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. It was also known as ''Winethereswick'', ''Winriswic'' or ''Wenterswic''; the

Low Saxon Low Saxon (), also known as West Low German () are a group of Low German dialects spoken in parts of the Netherlands, northwestern Germany and southern Denmark (in North Schleswig by parts of the German-speaking minority). It is one of two di ...

'' wich'' or ''wic'' means the living place of a certain person. The person would likely have been called ''Wenether'', ''Winitar'' or ''Winter''.

Geography

Winterswijk is located in east of the province of

in the east of the

. It is part of the region of

History

Founded around 1000 AD it remained an isolated farming community until 1830 when the road from Borken to

Zutphen Zutphen () is a city and municipality located in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It lies some northeast of Arnhem, on the eastern bank of the river IJssel at the point where it is joined by the Berkel. First mentioned in the 11th centur ...

via Winterswijk and

Groenlo Groenlo () is a city in the municipality of Oost Gelre, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, on the German border, within a region in the province of Gelderland called the Achterhoek (literally: "back corner"). Groenlo was a municipal ...

was built. Around 1840 many emigrated to

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

—

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

in particular. After 1870 the town became a centre for textiles, such as spinning and weaving and indeed the Tricot factory employed a large proportion of the local population in its heyday. In 1878 the railway line to

was built primarily for the textile industry, which was set up by Jan Willink. Some of the families such as the Willinks have lived there since 1284.

World War II and liberation

Winterswijk was liberated on 31 March 1945. The day prior, on 30 March there was a tank battle in one of the townships called Woold, with sixty

Sherman tank The M4 Sherman, officially medium tank, M4, was the medium tank most widely used by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. I ...

s. The

53rd Welsh Division The 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought in both the First and Second World Wars. Originally raised in 1908 as the Welsh Division, part of the Territorial Force (TF), the division saw service i ...

and the 3rd British Infantry Division, were moving from Bocholt via

Aalten Aalten () is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands. The former municipalities of Bredevoort (1818) and Dinxperlo (2005) have been merged with Aalten. Notable inhabitants of Aalten include Angus Young, guitarist of the Australian ...

to Winterswijk. The tank battle resulted in sixteen German and nine British soldiers losing their lives. On 31 March, around nine AM allied forces had a struggle just over five kilometers south of Winterswijk following reinforcements from the NSB. On 31 March the first allied troops finally reached the Slingestream near Winterswijk. 31 March is marked as the official day to remember the liberation of Winterswijk, despite the fact that in the late afternoon of 31 March parts of Miste and Woold were already liberated. After the liberation of Winterswijk they founded a Rest-Centre for British soldiers in the Sociëteit de Eendracht, where the British soldiers, could find some rest.''Liberation of Winterswijk, during World War II'
wenters.nu
/ref> Although the Jewish community of Winterswijk was greatly decimated during the war, a synagogue still exists. Yet no regular services are being held. The synagogue is open for visitors and guided tours.

Railway stations

Winterswijk Winterswijk (; also known as ''Winterswiek'' or ''Wenters'') is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands. It has a population of and is situated in the Achterhoek, which lies in the easternmost part ...

* Winterswijk West

Notable residents

* John H. Corscot (1839–1926), mayor of

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

, 1893 to 1895 *

Piet Mondriaan Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), known after 1911 as Piet Mondrian (, , ), was a Dutch Painting, painter and Theory of art, art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He w ...

(1872–1944), painter, pioneer of 20th century

abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a Composition (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...

, lived in Winterswijk ages 8–20 *

Willem van Otterloo Jan Willem van Otterloo (27 December 190727 July 1978) was a Dutch conductor, cello, cellist and composer. Biography Van Otterloo was born in Winterswijk, Gelderland, in the Netherlands, the son of William Frederik van Otterloo, a railway inspe ...

(1907–1978), conductor, cellist, composer * Max van Dam (1910–1943) artist, murdered in the

Sobibor extermination camp Sobibor ( ; ) was an extermination camp built and operated by Nazi Germany as part of Operation Reinhard. It was located in the forest near the village of Żłobek Duży in the General Government region of Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), ...

Johanna Reiss Johanna Reiss ( ; born 4 April 1932) is a Dutch-American writer whose work focuses on her experiences as a Jewish child during the Second World War. Her books have been compared to the writing of Anne Frank. Early life Johanna Reiss was born ...

(born 1932), Dutch-American writer, longtime resident of New York City * Bram Stemerdink (born 1936), politician,

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

1976/77 *

Gerrit Komrij Gerrit Jan Komrij (30 March 1944 – 5 July 2012) was a Dutch poet, novelist, translator, critic, polemic journalist and playwright. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s, writing poetry that sharply contrasted with the free form poetry, free- ...

(1944-2012) poet, novelist, critic, journalist and playwright *

Dick Mol Dick "Sir Mammoth" Mol (born June 26, 1955) is a Dutch paleontologist - a specialist in the field of mammoths for almost three decades. He is a research associate of several museums. Mol's primary focus is on mammals of the Quaternary period, inc ...

(born 1955) paleontologist and specialist in the field of mammoths * Johan Houwers (born 1957) politician, real estate broker and convicted mortgage fraudster *

Herman Brock Jr. Herman Brock Jr. (born September 18, 1970) is a Dutch left-handed Bluegrass music, bluegrass, Americana (music), Americana and blues musician, multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. He is also author of the series 'Secrets of the guitar'. ...

(born 1970) left-handed Dutch bluegrass, Americana and Blues musician

Sport

* * Willy Hillen (born 1943) former sports shooter, competed at the

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

and

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

* Jan Vreman (born 1965), football manager and former player for

De Graafschap Vereniging Betaald Voetbal De Graafschap, simply known as De Graafschap () is a professional association football club based in Doetinchem, Netherlands. The team competes in the , the second level of the Dutch football league system. Founded o ...

Martijn Meerdink Martijn Meerdink (born 15 September 1976) is a Dutch former professional association football, footballer who played for AZ Alkmaar as a winger (association football), winger and was capped for the Netherlands national football team, Netherland ...

(born 1976), football player * Jurgen Wevers (born 1979), football goalkeeper * Myrthe Schoot (born 1988) volleyball player, competed at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Stef Dusseldorp Stef Dusseldorp (born 27 September 1989 in Winterswijk, Gelderland) is a Dutch racing driver. He started a career in formula cars in 2007, having competed in series such as Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup (5th in 2008) and the German F ...

(born 1989), racing driver

Gallery

File:Marktplein in Winterswijk.jpg, Marktplein with church (Jacobskerk) File:Wenterswiek nijstraote.jpg, Nieuwstraat File:Winterswijk, de Watertoren RM523469 IMG 2610 2022-07-18 18.06.jpg, Water tower File:Winterswijk, sculptuur het Strijktrio van Jan Bons IMG 2583 2022-07-18 17.17.jpg, Sculpture: the Strijktrio (String Trio) designed by Jan Bons File:Grote steen Woold.JPG, Great stone at Woold, Winterswijk

References

External links

* {{Authority control Municipalities of Gelderland Populated places in Gelderland Cities in the Netherlands Achterhoek