Ter Apel
Encyclopedia
Ter Apel is a town
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 Vlagtwedde
Vlagtwedde
Vlagtwedde is a municipality in the very southeast of Groningen province in the northeastern Netherlands with seat of local government in the community of Sellingen...

 in the northern 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 Groningen
Groningen (province)
Groningen [] is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. In the east it borders the German state of Niedersachsen , in the south Drenthe, in the west Friesland and in the north the Wadden Sea...

 in the region Westerwolde
Westerwolde
Westerwolde is a region in the province Groningen in the north of the Netherlands. The region is located in the most eastern part of the Netherlands, alongside the German border. It is situated around the rivers Mussel Aa, Ruiten Aa, and Westerwoldse Aa, and it contains the villages Bellingwolde,...

. The town lies on the stream Ruiten Aa, which has the valley that together with the Ter Apeler forest belongs to the national network of nature reserves, the Ecologische Hoofdstructuur. An accommodation centre for refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...

s is located at Ter Apel, functioning as a "departure centre" for rejected refugees and a registration point, operated by the Centraal Orgaan opvang Asielzoekers. Ter Apel lies on the roads N366, N976 and N391. It forms the southern point of the border between Groningen and Drenthe
Drenthe
Drenthe is a province of the Netherlands, located in the north-east of the country. The capital city is Assen. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and Germany to the east.-History:Drenthe, unlike many other parts of the Netherlands, has been a...

, the Semslinie.

History

The town was founded at a monastery
Ter Apel Monastery
Ter Apel Monastery is a former monastery in the village of Ter Apel in the northeastern Dutch province of Groningen. It is the only monastery in the larger area of Friesland and Groningen that survived the Reformation in a decent condition, and the only remaining rural monastery from the Middle...

, which from the thirteenth century was a chief work of the Premonstratensian
Premonstratensian
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines, or in Britain and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg...

s
and from 1465 an institution of the Order of the Holy Cross
Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross
The Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross, commonly called Crosiers, are a Roman Catholic religious order.-History:According to their own tradition, the Crosiers were founded by five men attached to the household of the prince-bishop of Liege, Radulf von Zähringen, who accompanied the...

. It was closed in 1594 due to the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

. In 1619 ownership of Westerwolde passed to the city of Groningen, with the monastery and its grounds included. Over time the city planted forests on these grounds. In 1931-1933 the remaining parts of the monastery were restored. In 1976 ownership of the monastery and the forests passed to the state forest managers, Staatsbosbeheer
Staatsbosbeheer
Staatsbosbeheer is a Dutch organization founded in 1899 to control and conserve Dutch nature reserves.Staatsbosbeheer currently oversees over 250.000 hectares of land in the Netherlands. Usually this land is open to the public for recreational purposes, but restrictions often apply...

. The agricultural land was also purchased after 1976.

Since the 19th century, built-up strips have also formed due to Peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...

 production from bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....

s along the Stads-Ter Apel canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...

 in the direction of Stadskanaal
Stadskanaal
Stadskanaal is a Canal, municipality and a town in the northeastern Netherlands.The area is known for its peat mining.- Population centres :...

, the Weerdingermond in the direction of Nieuw-Weerdinge
Nieuw-Weerdinge
Nieuw-Weerdinge is a village in the Netherlands and it is part of the Emmen municipality in Drenthe. Nieuw-Weerdinge has an altitude of 10 meters and a population of about 3,310 .-External links:*...

, and in the direction of Emmer-Compascuum
Emmer-Compascuum
Emmer-Compascuum is a village in the Netherlands and it is part of the Emmen municipality in Drenthe. Emmer-Compascuum has an elevation of 12 meters and a population of about 8,000.-External links:*...

. In 1916 the Ruiten Aa canal was completed, which as of 2004 is again navigable for recreational boating. In the first half of the 20th century it was a hub for the rail and tram routes operated by the Eerste Drentsche Stoomtramweg Maatschappij (EDS), the Eerste Groninger Tramway-Maatschappij (EGTM), the Dedemsvaartsche Stoomtramweg-Maatschappij (DSM), the Stoomtramweg-Maatschappij Oostelijk Groningen (OG), and the Groningsch-Drentsche Spoorweg Maatschappij (Stadskanaal - Ter_Apel - national border) (STAR). Of these rail lines, in 2005 the aardenbaan in the forests at Ter Apel is still recognisable.

External links

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