Jaarsveld is a town in the Dutch

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...

 province of Utrecht

Utrecht (province)

Utrecht is the smallest province of the Netherlands in terms of area, and is located in the centre of the country. It is bordered by the Eemmeer in the north, Gelderland in the east, the river Rhine in the south, South Holland in the west, and North Holland in the northwest...

. It is a part of the municipality of Lopik

Lopik

Lopik is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht.In the Netherlands, 'Lopik' is often used as a reference to the broadcasting facilities located in the eastern part of the municipality and in neighbouring IJsselstein...

, and lies about 7 km southwest of IJsselstein

IJsselstein

IJsselstein is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. IJsselstein received city rights in 1331. IJsselstein owes its name to the river Hollandse IJssel which flows through the city....

.

In 2001, the town of Jaarsveld had 248 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 0.07 km², and contained 83 residences. The wider statistical district has about 330 inhabitants.

Jaarsveld used to be a separate municipality, covering a large part of the current municipality of Lopik south of the Lopiker Wetering and Enge IJssel rivers. It merged with the municipality of Lopik in 1943. A large part of the village of Lopik is actually built in the former municipality of Jaarsveld.

During the middleage until the early 20th century Jaarsveld was a vrije en hoge heerlijkheid

Heerlijkheid

A heerlijkheid was the basic administrative and judicial unit in rural areas in Dutch-speaking lands before 1800. It originated in the feudal subdivision of government authority in the Middle Ages. The closest English equivalents of the word are "seigniory" and "manor"...

owned by the van Arkels, Egmonds, Orange-Nassau

House of Orange-Nassau

The House of Orange-Nassau , a branch of the European House of Nassau, has played a central role in the political life of the Netherlands — and at times in Europe — since William I of Orange organized the Dutch revolt against Spanish rule, which after the Eighty Years' War...

, van Voorst tot Voorst

Van Voorst tot Voorst

Van Voorst tot Voorst is an old Dutch noble family from the Dutch province Overijssel.-History:The first documented ancestor is Fredericus van Hekeren van der Ese who was an adviser to Reginald II of Guelders...

 and de Witts

De Witt (family)

De Witt is the name of an old Dutch patrician and regenten family. Originally of Dordrechts origin, the genealogy of the family begins with Jan de Witte, a patrician who lived around 1295. The family have played an important role during the Dutch Golden Age...

 from Dordrecht

Dordrecht

Dordrecht , colloquially Dordt, historically in English named Dort, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,601 in 2009...

. As a free a high fief, Jaarsveld was an independent of the provinces Holland or Utrecht

Utrecht (province)

Utrecht is the smallest province of the Netherlands in terms of area, and is located in the centre of the country. It is bordered by the Eemmeer in the north, Gelderland in the east, the river Rhine in the south, South Holland in the west, and North Holland in the northwest...

, like the larger Barony of IJsselstein to the east.