Oud-Leusden is a hamlet 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 Leusden

Leusden

Leusden is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It is located about 3 kilometres southeast of Amersfoort....

, and lies about 4 km south of 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...

.

History

Oud-Leusden ("old-Leusden") was formerly just called "Leusden". The name is known from the year 776, when villa Lisaduna was a large farm complex with defenses. Although it was assumed to be located near the current location of Oud-Leusden, no evidence of this complex has been found.

The church tower of Oud-Leusden is one of the oldest, perhaps the oldest, in the Netherlands. Originally it was part of a church, which before the reformation was dedicated to Saint Anthony

Anthony the Great

Anthony the Great or Antony the Great , , also known as Saint Anthony, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Abba Antonius , and Father of All Monks, was a Christian saint from Egypt, a prominent leader among the Desert Fathers...

. In the nineteenth century, most of the churchgoing population lived in the nearby village of Leusbroek (now Leusden-Zuid

Leusden-Zuid

Leusden-Zuid is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Leusden, and lies about 6 km south of Amersfoort.In 2001, the village of Leusden-Zuid had 1748 inhabitants...

), and the church was replaced with a new one in Leusbroek, and demolished in 1828.