Doorn
Encyclopedia
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 municipality of Utrechtse Heuvelrug
Utrechtse Heuvelrug
Utrechtse Heuvelrug is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It was formed on 1 January 2006 by combining the former municipalities of Amerongen, Doorn, Driebergen-Rijsenburg, Leersum, and Maarn.-Name:...
in the central 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 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...
. On 1 January 2008 the town had 10,052 inhabitants.
History
In a document from the period 885885
Year 885 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* The Vikings besiege Paris.* Godfrith, the Sea King is killed in Lobith...
-896
896
Year 896 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Decisive Bulgarian victory over Magyars in the Battle of Southern Buh....
the settlement is called "Thorhem", dwelling of Thor
Thor
In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...
, the God of Thunder. Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
s quartered at Dorestad
Dorestad
In the Early Middle Ages, Dorestad was the largest settlement of northwestern Europe. It was a large, flourishing trading place, three kilometers long, situated where the rivers Rhine and Lek diverge southeast of Utrecht in the Netherlands near the modern town of Wijk bij Duurstede...
(now Wijk bij Duurstede
Wijk bij Duurstede
- The city of Wijk bij Duurstede :The city is located on the Rhine. At Wijk bij Duurstede, the Kromme Rijn branches off, and the main branch is called Lek River downstream from Wijk bij Duurstede....
), called the place Thorhem because reputedly the God of Thunder was worshipped there. Indeed archeological diggings in a moor on the estate of Hoog Moersbergen, north of Doorn, prove there was a pagan sacrificial site.
At the time the settlement of Thorhem belonged to the homestead of Villa Thorhem. Around 1200 this homestead was in the possession of a provost
Provost (religion)
A provost is a senior official in a number of Christian churches.-Historical Development:The word praepositus was originally applied to any ecclesiastical ruler or dignitary...
of the Bishopric of Utrecht. He or one of his successors had a castle built in the 14th Century, now Huis Doorn
Huis Doorn
Huis Doorn is a small manor house that lies outside of Doorn, a small town near Utrecht, in the Netherlands. The 15th-century house was rebuilt in the late 18th century in a conservative manner and, in the mid-19th century, a surrounding park was laid out as an English landscape garden...
, and a church called the Maartenskerk ("St. Martin's Church") around 1200. The church was extended in the 15th Century. It fell into Protestant hands around 1585 and is still in use as a Protestant church. Another castle, "Kasteel Moersbergen" was first mentioned in 1435 and has been altered several times since the 17th Century.
The estate around Huis Doorn was so large that there was little room for extension of the town. Only after 1874, when the estate was parcelled out, there was room for growth. 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...
the town has grown considerably.
Doorn is also a major base for the Royal Dutch Marines
Netherlands Marine Corps
The Korps Mariniers is the marine corps and amphibious infantry component of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The marines are trained to operate anywhere in the world in all environments, under any condition and circumstance, as a rapid reaction force. The Korps Mariniers can be deployed to a given...
. Von Gimborn Arboretum
Von Gimborn Arboretum
Von Gimborn Arboretum is a large living collection of woody plants in the Netherlands, which makes part of the Botanical Gardens of Utrecht University. The arboretum is situated in Doorn, province of Utrecht, about 25 km to the east from the city of Utrecht, and together with its nursery...
, one of the sites of the botanical gardens of Utrecht University
Utrecht University
Utrecht University is a university in Utrecht, Netherlands. It is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands and one of the largest in Europe. Established March 26, 1636, it had an enrollment of 29,082 students in 2008, and employed 8,614 faculty and staff, 570 of which are full professors....
, is situated near the town.
Doorn was an independent municipality until 1 January 2006. Since then it is the principal town in the municipality of Utrechtse Heuvelrug
Utrechtse Heuvelrug
Utrechtse Heuvelrug is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It was formed on 1 January 2006 by combining the former municipalities of Amerongen, Doorn, Driebergen-Rijsenburg, Leersum, and Maarn.-Name:...
.
Famous inhabitants
The last emperorEmperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
of Germany
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...
, Wilhelm II, lived at castle Doorn (Huis Doorn
Huis Doorn
Huis Doorn is a small manor house that lies outside of Doorn, a small town near Utrecht, in the Netherlands. The 15th-century house was rebuilt in the late 18th century in a conservative manner and, in the mid-19th century, a surrounding park was laid out as an English landscape garden...
), in the center of the village, after he was deposed in 1918. He died in Doorn in 1941.
The Dutch novelist Simon Vestdijk
Simon Vestdijk
Simon Vestdijk was a Dutch writer.Born in the small town of Harlingen, Vestdijk studied medicine in Amsterdam, but turned to literature after a few years as a doctor. He became one of the most important 20th-century writers in the Netherlands. His prolificness as a novelist was legendary, but he...
lived in Doorn for a great part of his life (between 1939 and 1971, a few short intervals excepted). The environs of Doorn are clearly recognisable in the landscape descriptions in many of his novels.
Maarten Maartens
Maarten Maartens
Maarten Maartens, pen name of Jozua Marius Willem van der Poorten Schwartz , was a Dutch writer, who wrote in English...
, a Dutch writer who wrote in English, had a small castle built in Doorn: Zonheuvel ("Sun Hill", finished in 1903). At present the castle is called Maarten Maartenshuis and is a part of the hotel and conference centre Zonheuvel.