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Winschoten

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Winschoten ( Dutch: [ˈʋɪnsxoːtə(n)] ; Gronings : Winschoot ) is a city with a population of 18,518 in the municipality of Oldambt in the northeast of the Netherlands . It is the largest city in the region of Oldambt in the province of Groningen which has 38,213 inhabitants.

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34-581: Winschoten received its city rights in 1825. It was a separate municipality until it was merged into Oldambt in 2010. The seat of government of Oldambt is in Winschoten. There are three windmills and several churches in Winschoten. There is a railway station with direct connections to Groningen and Leer (Germany), although due to the reconstruction of the Friesenbrücke trains to Germany will stop at Weener until 2024. Winschoten has an important role as

68-485: A count , duke or similar member of the high nobility, granted to a town or village he owned certain town privileges that places without city rights did not have. In Belgium , Luxembourg , and the Netherlands , a town, often proudly, calls itself a city if it obtained a complete package of city rights at some point in its history. Its current population is not relevant, so there are some very small cities. The smallest

102-711: A 10x10 km relay race. Winschoten also hosted the start and finish of the first stage at the 2013 Energiewacht Tour . Winschoten has a railway station with train services towards Groningen and Leer (in Germany ). The railway station was inaugurated 1 May 1868 to service the Groningen–Winschoten–Nieuweschans line. This was the second brought into use by the Company for the Exploitation of State Railways (Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen) and part of

136-615: A gradual decline. In 1975, Bram Westers  [ nl ] , the former Director of the Groninger Museum , bought the former residential home of Captain Kornelis Jans Boon. The building dates from 1799 and was one of the few captain's homes in original condition. In 1989, Westers, who had retired from the Groninger Museum, started to transform the house into a museum. The museum opened in 1990, and provides an overview of

170-411: A raise from ƒ 35 to ƒ58 per week, but also the men received a raise from ƒ45 to ƒ58, because they too had been paid less than the collective agreement for the tobacco industry. An additional result of the strike was that the unions decided that regional differences in pay were no longer considered acceptable, and that women and men should get equal pay. However, the union members who were members of

204-471: A shopping centre for the region of Oldambt. In the province of Groningen, it is the second-largest shopping destination and it attracts many consumers from nearby Germany. The origin of the name of Winschoten is not known but it has received nicknames. One of these is Molenstad (or Milltown ). It has also been known, in living memory, as Sodom . This name arose out of the Jewish community who were scandalised by

238-506: Is Staverden in the Netherlands, with 40 inhabitants. In Belgium, Durbuy is the smallest city, whilst the smallest in Luxembourg is Vianden . When forced by financial problems, feudal landlords offered for sale privileges to settlements from around 1000. The total package of these comprises town privileges . Such sales raised (non-recurrent) revenue for the feudal lords, in exchange for

272-409: Is Dutch, but many Winschoters especially of older generations speak the local dialect called Gronings. In addition, many inhabitants are able to speak German or English. The Winschoter version of the dialect Gronings has influences of Hebrew and Yiddish as a consequence of the once prominent Jewish community that had lived there since the 18th century. Winschoten is host to the oldest Ultramarathon of

306-547: Is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen . It is located in the municipality of Pekela , about 7 km southeast of Veendam . The village started as a peat colony, and was named after the river Pekel A . During the 19th century, the village was active in the maritime trade, and contains a museum dedicated to the maritime history. In December 1969, the first women strike of the Netherlands occurred in Nieuwe Pekela. In

340-756: The Harlingen–Nieuweschans railway (built 1863–1868). Today this route is operated by Arriva . Winschoten also has a road connection to the rest of the Netherlands and Germany via the A7 motorway ( E22 ). City rights in the Netherlands City rights are a feature of the medieval history of the Low Countries , and, more generally, the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation . A liege lord , usually

374-596: The Lutheran church. The closest church was in Winschoterzijl which was four hours by foot. A ship was quicker, however it was not always possible during the winter. In 1762, a Lutheran church was constructed in Nieuwe Pekela. The church burned down in 1865, but was rebuilt in 1868. It was declared a monument in 2000. Since the late 20th century, attendance of the Lutheran church is in decline, and they nowadays cooperate with

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408-470: The 13th century in style mingling Roman and Gothic features. There is a Dutch Reformed church on Marktplein. A free-standing 16th-century bell tower is one of the features of the Winschoten skyline. There is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Vitus , built by Alfred Tepe in 1880. It is a neo-gothic church with stained glass windows by Kocken and a sandstone high altar from Freitag in Münster. This altar

442-595: The 1590s, the Friesche Compagnie (Frisian Company) was founded to exploit the peat in the area. In 1599, the raised bog around the River Pekel A was bought and subdivided in 101 lots. Houses were built along the river for the workers. In 1635, it became part of the Groninger Peat Colonies  [ nl ] , and was controlled by the city of Groningen as a colony. In 1704, the linear settlement

476-676: The Dutch Reformed Church and often have joint services. The river Pekel A connected Nieuwe Pekela with the Dollart and the Wadden Sea . Around 1800, the peat became exhausted, and the skippers started to make longer journeys, to Holland, and later to England, the Baltic and the Mediterranean. At first the maritime industry flourished, but the increasing popularity of the steamship resulted in

510-405: The Netherlands since 1976 called De RUN . It is a race of 100 km (62 mi) run individually over a 10 km (6 mi) paved lap through the town. The current record of 06:16:41 is held by Jean-Paul Praet since 1992. During the event, that is usually held on the second Saturday of September, there is also the possibility to run a 50 km (31 mi) race or to compete with a group in

544-526: The authority they had previously had: law-making and the judiciary had become part of the state . After the Constitution of 1848 and the Municipal Law of 1851, the differences between the legal privileges of cities, towns, and villages were permanently erased. In the early 19th century, when several important towns (especially The Hague ) wanted to call themselves cities, the custom of granting city status

578-604: The development and centralization of a national government. In the Netherlands the last city to receive real city rights (as defined above) was Willemstad in 1586. During the Dutch Republic , only Blokzijl gained city rights (in 1672). After the Batavian Revolution in 1795, municipalities were styled after the French model and city rights were abolished by law. Although partially restored after 1813, cities did not fully regain

612-474: The first women in the history of the Netherlands to go on strike. The factory threatened to fire them, however the women went to Fré Meis of the Communist Party (CPN) who had previously organised successful strikes in neighbouring Oude Pekela. Meis brought in the union. The union started negotiating with the management of factory. After four weeks, the strike was called off, because the women received

646-530: The following were first granted city rights during the medieval period. The first community in the contemporary Kingdom of the Netherlands to receive city rights was Deventer in 956. It can be argued that some cities have older rights: for instance Nijmegen may have been granted city status during the Roman Empire . Another case is Voorburg , which is built on the site of the Roman settlement Forum Hadriani and

680-483: The immoral behaviour of their Gentile neighbours. The inhabitants are also called Tellerlikkers (plate lickers). Winschoten was the capital of the Oldambt district, in a fertile agricultural region. Winschoten received city rights in 1825. It was the last town in the Netherlands to be granted such rights and it was more of a symbolic gesture. The town flag has three horizontal stripes of blue and white, in ratio 1:3:1, on

714-585: The loss of power. Over time, the landlords sold more and more privileges. This resulted in a shift of power within the counties and duchies in the Low Countries from the aristocracy to the bourgeoisie, starting in Flanders . Some of these cities even developed into city-states . The growing economic and military power concentrating in the cities led to a very powerful class of well-to-do merchants and traders. Privileges Freedoms Governance Note several of

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748-466: The maritime history of the region. There is a large collection of pottery and paintings collected by the skippers of the Pekelas. There is a special emphasis on the many gold and silver objects acquired during the journeys. A part of the house was still used as a residence. In 2006, the whole building became a museum. In 1920, the cigar factory Albatros was founded in Nieuwe Pekela. After World War II, it

782-536: The municipality of Oldambt , in the east of the province of Groningen , and in the northeast of the Netherlands. It is situated east of Groningen , Hoogezand , and Veendam , north of Stadskanaal , south of Delfzijl , and west of Leer and Papenburg (both in Germany). It is also south of the Dollart and the Oldambtmeer . There used to be 13 mills in Winschoten, today only three large, monumental windmills remain in

816-509: The next year. In 1877, the Pekel A was extended to Stadskanaal and was no longer a dead end. The part of the river from Oude Pekela to Stadskanaal was later renamed Pekelderdiep  [ nl ] . Nieuwe Pekela was a separate municipality until 1990, when it merged with Oude Pekela to form the new municipality of Pekela . The peat industry started to attract workers from neighbouring Germany who brought their own form of Protestantism:

850-467: The town. These mills are now owned by the local council and are run by volunteer millers. They form an important feature of the townscape and are well cared for by the local authorities for the benefit of the community and visitors. Molen Berg, built in 1854 at the Grintweg, was designed to grind corn. Its first owner was J.D. Buurma. The unusual design of the sails with movable blades, akin to venetian blinds

884-402: The white stripe is a red outline plan of a fortress with nine embattlements. It was adopted 23 May 1973 by municipal resolution. The coat of arms is an image of Saint Vitus , whose name can also be recognized in many streetnames, schoolnames names of clubs, etc. Winschoten is located at 53°9′N 7°2′E  /  53.150°N 7.033°E  / 53.150; 7.033 (53.15, 7.03) in

918-536: Was briefly revived. The last grant of city status in the Netherlands was to Delfshaven in 1825. But the city status granted during this period was quite different from the privileges bestowed in the Middle Ages, and were merely symbolic. This is also the case for cities such as The Hague and Assen , which received their status during the Napoleonic period. Nieuwe Pekela Nieuwe Pekela ( Gronings: Nij Pekel )

952-478: Was built in 1763 on the instructions of Jurrien Balles and Antje Gerbrands. Later owners were Jan Joesten and G. Eikema. Then from 1855 till 1960 various generations of the Edens family owned it. The local municipality bought it in 1960. It is the oldest mill in the entire province of Groningen. There are numerous Protestant churches in Winschoten including an assembly of Plymouth Brethren . The oldest church dates back to

986-656: Was formerly placed in the Saint Boniface church in Nieuwe Pekela . When this church was demolished it was brought to Winschoten to replace an old altar. There used to be a thriving Jewish community. During the Second World War, Winschoten was a transit port to Germany for the Jew-transports. Of the 493 Jews that lived in Winschoten at the beginning of the war, only 20 survived. The name tellerlikker (mentioned above)

1020-462: Was given on account of the local custom to voraciously devour their meals and conclude with licking the plate ( teller - in the local dialect) clean. A monument to one of these plate lickers stands on the Oldambt Square, in front of an area where the theatre 'De Klinker', built on the site of a former brick factory, used to be. A dog in turn licks the feet of his greedy owner. The official language

1054-512: Was granted city status in about AD 151, but was abandoned in the late 3rd century: thus the current settlement is not considered an uninterrupted continuation of the Roman city. At the end of the Middle Ages , the number of grants of city status fell dramatically. The strong position of merchants and traders allowed the Netherlands to become the first modern republic in the 16th century. The institution of city status gradually came to an end with

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1088-458: Was in advance for its time. Traditionally Dutch windmills have tarpaulin covering the sails to control or catch the wind's power. The Dijkstra Molen in the Nassaustraat was built in 1862 by D.E. Dijkstra. In 1953 the original owner's grandson sold it to the local government. It was restored 1982/1983 and further restoration work took place in 1995/-6 restoration. Molen Edens, at Nassaustraat 14,

1122-447: Was renamed Champ Clark , after an American politician. The 18-year-old Grietje Schoonhoven was employed at the factory, and discovered that her male colleagues had been given a raise while the salary of the women had remained the same. The women twice went to the management who refused to raise their salary. On 15 December 1969, the 30 women employed at Champ Clark decided to call a wildcat strike , and demanded equal pay . They became

1156-460: Was split into Oude Pekela (Old) and Nieuwe Pekela (New), because a second Dutch Reformed Church was built. In 1801, all towns and villages had to be governed by a municipality , and the peat colony came to an end. In 1808, Nieuwe Pekela was home to 3,299 people. In 1810, after Napoleon annexed the Batavian Republic , Nieuwe Pekela became a separate commune and a mayor was appointed

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