Ouderkerk aan den IJssel is a village in the Krimpenerwaard

Krimpenerwaard

The Krimpenerwaard, located in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands, is the rural area just south of Gouda and just east of the Rotterdam conurbation...

 polder

Polder

A polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments known as dikes, that forms an artificial hydrological entity, meaning it has no connection with outside water other than through manually-operated devices...

, in the province South Holland

South Holland

South Holland is a province situated on the North Sea in the western part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is The Hague and its largest city is Rotterdam.South Holland is one of the most densely populated and industrialised areas in the world...

, the Netherlands. It is situated along the river Hollandse IJssel

Hollandse IJssel

The Hollandse IJssel is a branch of the Rhine delta that flows westward from Nieuwegein on river Lek through IJsselstein, Gouda and Capelle aan den IJssel to Krimpen aan den IJssel, where it ends in the Nieuwe Maas. Another branch called Enge IJssel flows southwest from Nieuwegein...

 and has over 4000 inhabitants.

Ouderkerk aan den IJssel, together with Lageweg and IJssellaan, was a separate municipality until 1 January 1985 when the municipalities in the Krimpenerwaard were reorganized and it was merged with Gouderak

Gouderak

Gouderak is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is located 4 km southwest of Gouda on the river Hollandsche IJssel, in the municipality of Ouderkerk....

 to form the municipality Ouderkerk

Ouderkerk

Ouderkerk is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 28.53 km²...

. Of these, Ouderkerk aan den IJssel is the largest population centre and the location of the town hall.

History

The town is named for its "old church", which was a prominent landmark for centuries on the horizon for ships travelling along the IJssel river. There is an indication that a little church may have been present here in the 10th century. This would be remarkable since the Krimpenerwaard would have been a swamp at that time except for some minor hills. As the Krimpenerwaard has dried up and the river dikes along the river have been raised, the church has "sunk" much lower in the landscape today than in former centuries, which was the reason for raising the tower in the 19th century.

The oldest official reference to the village is from 1263 when it was called Oudekerke. Though several Roman coins from the fourth century have been found, this does not confirm the presence of a Roman settlement. But it is probable that there was an older village here called IJsele until the 12th century. Remains of a tuff

Tuff

Tuff is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly when used as construction material, although tufa also refers to a quite different rock. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered...

 stone church foundation from that same century have been found.

Henry de Nassau, Lord Overkirk, an army leader during the Spanish War of Succession, is buried in the main church.