Wijk bij Duurstede

Wijk bij Duurstede (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋɛi̯ɡ bɛi̯ ˈdyːrsteːdə]) is a municipality and a city in the central Netherlands.

Wijk bij Duurstede
Municipality
Aerial view of Wijk bij Duurstede
Flag
Coat of arms
Location in Utrecht
Coordinates: 51°59′N 5°20′E
CountryNetherlands
ProvinceUtrecht
Government
 • BodyMunicipal council
Area
 • Total50.40 km2 (19.46 sq mi)
 • Land47.62 km2 (18.39 sq mi)
 • Water2.78 km2 (1.07 sq mi)
Elevation5 m (16 ft)
Population
 (January 2019)[4]
 • Total23,762
 • Density499/km2 (1,290/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode
3945–3947, 3960–3962
Area code0343
Websitewww.wijkbijduurstede.nl

Population centres

Topography

Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Wijk bij Duurstede, 2013.

City

The city (population as of 2007: 23,377) is located on the Rhine. At Wijk bij Duurstede, the Kromme Rijn (Crooked Rhine) branches off, and the main branch is called Lek River downstream from Wijk bij Duurstede.

The name 'Wijk bij Duurstede' means 'Neighbourhood by Duurstede'. Duurstede is the name of the nearby castle/ruin, also called Dorestad, where the bishop of Utrecht used to live. Wijk bij Duurstede is located at the place where Dorestad used to be, an important Frisian trade settlement during Carolingian times, that was pillaged around 850 by the Vikings.

Wijk bij Duurstede has the only drive-through wind mill in the world. The mill is often confused with the mill that was made famous by Ruisdael's 1670 painting The windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede, but that mill no longer exists (its foundations can still be seen a couple of blocks away from the remaining mill). At the market place of Wijk bij Duurstede is one of the few church towers in the Netherlands with a flat roof, as built because the bishop could not afford to build a spire. Inside the tower a picture displays the planned construction of the tower. The tower was supposed to become higher than the Domtoren in Utrecht.

Wijk bij Duurstede received city rights in 1300.

Rorik by HW Koekkoek

Notable people
  • Wijk bij Duurstede, street to the churchtower
  • De stuw in de rivier de Lek bij Hagestein
  • Wijk bij Duurstede, windmill (molen Rijn en Lek) in the street
  • Wijk bij Duurstede
  • Castle: kasteel Duurstede
  • Neder-Rijn bij Wijk bij Duurstede
  • Wijk bij Duurstede, water in de Stadshaven
  • Langbroek Bebouwde Brug Cor Litjens

References
  1. "Burgemeester Tjapko Poppens" [Mayor Tjapko Poppens] (in Dutch). Gemeente Wijk bij Duurstede. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  2. "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2020" [Key figures for neighbourhoods 2020]. StatLine (in Dutch). CBS. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  3. "Postcodetool for 3962CL". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  4. "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 1 January 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
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