Ermelo
Encyclopedia
Ermelo is a municipalityMunicipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
and a town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, in the province of Gelderland
Gelderland
Gelderland is the largest province of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. The capital city is Arnhem. The two other major cities, Nijmegen and Apeldoorn have more inhabitants. Other major regional centers in Gelderland are Ede, Doetinchem, Zutphen, Tiel, Wijchen,...
in the Veluwe
Veluwe
The Veluwe is a forest-rich ridge of hills in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. The Veluwe features many different landscapes including woodland, heath, some small lakes and Europe's largest sand drifts....
area with a population of over 26.000.
Etymology
Ermelo comes from "lo" woods and "irmin" for which several explanations are given. Some of those are "great", "divine" or it refers to an old Germanic god called IrminIrmin
Irmin may be*Old Saxon irmin "strong, whole", maybe also "strong, tall, exalted" , from Proto-Germanic *erminaz, *ermenaz or *ermunaz, in personal names *An alleged Germanic deity in some currents...
.
History
The town has been known to exist since at least 855, when the name Irminlo first appeared in a legal document. Human presence in the area goes back further however, with many archaeological finds of the Bell-Beaker cultureBeaker culture
The Bell-Beaker culture , ca. 2400 – 1800 BC, is the term for a widely scattered cultural phenomenon of prehistoric western Europe starting in the late Neolithic or Chalcolithic running into the early Bronze Age...
having been made in the area.
For a long time the town most likely consisted of little more than a few farms and some other buildings like a windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
and a church and it didn't really grow much until the 19th century; in the year 1830 a road was made to make this part of the Veluwe more accessible and at the end of the 19th century the town got a train station
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
. Because the trainstation was some distance away from the town centre a road was constructed, the Stationsstraat, which is now considered to be the centre of the town. After the second world war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
a shortage of houses resulted in a rapid growth of Ermelo. In 1973 Nunspeet
Nunspeet
Nunspeet is a municipality and town in the central Netherlands. It has been an agricultural site since prehistoric times. It contains a number of villages, like Oosteinde, Westeinde, Hulshorst, Elspeet, Vierhouten and Hoophuizen. Nunspeet has a vivid historical foundation, called Nuwenspete...
became its own separate municipality after having been part of Ermelo before. In 2005, Ermelo celebrated its 1150 year long existence. Various artists from across the country performed during the festivities. A classic windmill dating from 1863 located in the town centre, named De Koe (The Cow), partially burned down in 1990 after having been hit by lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
, but was restored to working order in late 2008. A nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
moved out due to the complete renovation.
Recreation
There are many campsiteCampsite
A campsite or camping pitch is a place used for overnight stay in the outdoors. In British English a campsite is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight using tents or camper vans or caravans; this British English use of the word is synonymous with the...
s in the forests surrounding Ermelo which are popular place to stay for mainly Dutch and German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
tourists. Cycling through the forests and heaths
Heath (habitat)
A heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...
is a popular activity, especially during the summer. The nearby Veluwemeer
Veluwemeer
Veluwemeer or Lake Veluwe is a bordering lake in The Netherlands, between the provinces of Flevoland on the west side and Gelderland on the east side. It is a narrow lake that stretches from south-west to north-east...
allows for recreation on the water or beach. The town centre is home to various bars and restaurants and a tourist information centre.
Ermelo hosts various music festivals, such as the Fête de la Musique, Multipop and the International Boogie Woogie Festival. In 2010 the latter featured amongst others pianist Little Willie Littlefield
Little Willie Littlefield
Little Willie Littlefield is an American R&B pianist and singer.-Career:By 1947, at the age of sixteen, Littlefield was already a local attraction on many of Houston's Dowling Street Clubs and was recording for local record shop proprietor Eddie Henry who ran his own label "Eddies".Influenced by...
and saxophonist Big Jay McNeely
Big Jay McNeely
Big Jay McNeely is an American rhythm and blues saxophonist.-Biography:...
.
Transportation
The town's railway station is located near the town centre, with a train normally leaving every 30 minutes during the day both north towards ZwolleZwolle
Zwolle is a municipality and the capital city of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands, 120 kilometers northeast of Amsterdam. Zwolle has about 120,000 citizens.-History:...
and south towards Amersfoort
Amersfoort
Amersfoort is a municipality and the second largest city of the province of Utrecht in central Netherlands. The city is growing quickly but has a well-preserved and protected medieval centre. Amersfoort is one of the largest railway junctions in the country, because of its location on two of the...
and Utrecht
Utrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
. By car, it can be easily reached from highway A28
A28 motorway (Netherlands)
The A28 motorway is a motorway in the Netherlands. It is approximately 188 kilometers in length.The A28 traverses the Dutch provinces of Utrecht, Gelderland, Overijssel, Drenthe and Groningen...
which passes west of the town and provincial road N303 which passes through the town. There are also various bus routes passing through the town. Horst is easily accessible from the A28. A pedestrian and cyclist only ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
operates between Horst beach and Zeewolde
Zeewolde
Zeewolde is a municipality and a town in the Flevoland province in the central Netherlands. It has a population of approximately 20,000. It is situated in the polder of Flevoland with the small lake called the Wolderwijd to the east. To the south is a large deciduous forest called the Horsterwold...
, crossing the Veluwemeer.
Sports
Ermelo is home to various sports clubs. At the time of UEFA Euro 2000, the PortuguesePortugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
national team stayed in Ermelo and played against one of the local clubs, DVS '33. This club organizes an annual international tournament for young players. Spanish La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
football team Valencia CF
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...
has regularly used Ermelo as a base for their preseason training, and have played a number of matches at the local ground against other visiting clubs from Europe, such as Lokomotiv Sofia in 2007 and Fenerbahçe in 2006. In May 2009 it became clear that plans for a merge of DVS '33, EFC '58 and KC Ermelo were cancelled.
Population centres
- Ermelo
- De Beek
- Drie
- Horst
- Houtdorp
- Leuvenum
- Speuld
- StaverdenStaverdenStaverden is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Ermelo, about 5 kilometres east of Ermelo. It received city rights in 1298. With 40 inhabitants, it is today the smallest place with that traditional title in the Netherlands.-References:...
- Telgt
- Tonsel
People born in Ermelo
- Bas Jan van BochoveBas Jan van BochoveBastiaan Jan van Bochove is a Dutch politician and former educator. As a member of the Christian Democratic Appeal he has been an MP since October 26, 2010. He focuses on matters of housing, Kingdom relations and education.- External links :...
(born 1950), politician - Aart VierhoutenAart VierhoutenAart Vierhouten is a Dutch former professional racing cyclist, who last rode for .-Career wins:1993...
(born 1970), cyclist - Martin van der SpoelMartin van der SpoelMartin Michel van der Spoel is a former freestyle and medley swimmer from the Netherlands, who competed for his native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. There he finished in tenth place in the 200m Individual Medley, and in fifth and seventh position with the Men's...
(born 1971), swimmer
Living in Ermelo
- Evert ten Napel (born 1944), well known football commentator
External links
- Official Website (Dutch)
- Ermelo news (Dutch)
- Ermelo sheepbarn & visitors' centre (Dutch & partly English)