Land van Altena
Encyclopedia
County of Holland
The County of Holland was a county in the Holy Roman Empire and from 1482 part of the Habsburg Netherlands in what is now the Netherlands. It covered an area roughly corresponding to the current Dutch provinces of North-Holland and South-Holland, as well as the islands of Terschelling, Vlieland,...
, but since 1815 located 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 North-Brabant.
The Land of Altena lies on a river island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in the estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
of the river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
s Rhine and Meuse
Meuse River
The Maas or Meuse is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea...
. It is enclosed by the rivers Boven Merwede
Boven Merwede
The Boven Merwede is a stretch of river in the Netherlands.The Afgedamde Maas river joins the Waal at Woudrichem to form the Boven Merwede, which at Hardinxveld-Giessendam splits into the Beneden Merwede river on the right and the Nieuwe Merwede river on the left. Its length is 8.8 km...
(north), Afgedamde Maas
Afgedamde Maas
The Afgedamde Maas is a former distributary of the Maas River in the Dutch province of North Brabant. The Maas splits near Heusden with one channel flowing north until its confluence with the river Waal to form the Merwede, while the other continues west as the main distributary of the Maas...
(east) and Oude Maasje/Bergse Maas
Bergse Maas
The Bergse Maas is a canal that was constructed in 1904 to be a branch of the Maas River in the Dutch province of North Brabant. The Maas splits near Heusden into the Afgedamde Maas and the Bergse Maas...
(south) and by the regions De Biesbosch (west) and the (former) Land of Heusden (southeast). It contains the municipalities of Werkendam
Werkendam
Werkendam is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands. The municipality contains a large part of the Biesbosch area.- Population centres :*Dussen*Hank*Nieuwendijk*Sleeuwijk*'t Zand*Werkendam- Transport :...
(the largest town of the island) and Woudrichem
Woudrichem
Woudrichem is a municipality and a city in the south of the Netherlands.- Population centres :Almkerk, Andel, Bronkhorst, Duizend Morgen, Eng, Giessen, Oudendijk, Rijswijk, Stenenheul, Uitwijk, Uppel, Waardhuizen, Woudrichem and Zandwijk....
(the historical centre of the island and which village Almkerk
Almkerk
Almkerk is a village in the municipality of Woudrichem, in the Netherlands. It is located about 7 km south of Gorinchem.Until 1973, Almkerk was a separate municipality. Almkerk has more than 3600 people living here....
contains the site of the former castle of Altena).
Since 1904 it is united with the Land of Heusden (only the part above the Bergse Maas
Bergse Maas
The Bergse Maas is a canal that was constructed in 1904 to be a branch of the Maas River in the Dutch province of North Brabant. The Maas splits near Heusden into the Afgedamde Maas and the Bergse Maas...
) as the Land of Heusden and Altena.
Unlike most parts of North Brabant the Land of Altena has a strong Protestant (Calvinist) character. Former Prime Minister Hendrikus Colijn
Hendrikus Colijn
Hendrikus Colijn was a successful Dutch soldier, businessman and politician.-Early life:He was born in 1869 in the Haarlemmermeer to Antonie Colijn and Anna Verkuil, who had migrated to the Haarlemmermeer polder from the Land of Heusden and Altena for religious reasons...
(1869-1944) had his roots in this region.