Vinkeveen 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 De Ronde Venen

De Ronde Venen

De Ronde Venen is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht.-Population centres :The municipality of De Ronde Venen consists of the villages Amstelhoek, De Hoef, Mijdrecht, Vinkeveen, Waverveen, and Wilnis, and a number of hamlets, such as Aan de Zuwe and Achterbos...

, and lies about 18 km south of Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

.

The neighbourhood of Vinkeveen, which covers the town of Vinkeveen and the neighbouring hamlet of Achterbos, has about 8400 inhabitants.

Vinkeveen used to be a separate municipality. It merged with Waverveen

Waverveen

Waverveen is a small village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the municipality of De Ronde Venen, 3 km west of Vinkeveen....

 in 1841, to form the municipality Vinkeveen en Waverveen

Vinkeveen en Waverveen

Vinkeveen en Waverveen is a former municipality in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It was created in a merger of Vinkeveen and Waverveen in 1841, and existed until 1989, when the new municipality of De Ronde Venen was formed....

. In 1989 there was a reorganisation of local governments, and Vinkeveen became a part of De Ronde Venen.

Vinkeveen is mainly famous for the Vinkeveense Plassen, a lake area east of the village. They are an important recreational area, with facilities for swimming, diving and yachting. There is a marina

Marina

A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....

on the north shore of the lakes.