Zelhem
Encyclopedia
Zelhem is a village in the Dutch
province of Gelderland
. It has approximately 11.000 inhabitants. Zelhem is located in the municipality of Bronckhorst
, about 7 km northeast of Doetinchem
.
Zelhem was a separate municipality until 2005, when it became a part of Bronckhorst. The municipality used to cover an area of 81.89 km².
The name Salehem comes from two words 'Sale' which means 'house' and 'heim' which means 'place where people are home'.
The founder of this chapel was a passionate preacher called Liudger. He brought religion to the land of the Saksen. Between 1450 and 1500 the church as we know it was built. It was dedicated to St. Lambertus, bishop of Maastricht in the time of Ludger (hence the name 'Lambertikerk').
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 Gelderland
Gelderland
Gelderland is the largest province of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. The capital city is Arnhem. The two other major cities, Nijmegen and Apeldoorn have more inhabitants. Other major regional centers in Gelderland are Ede, Doetinchem, Zutphen, Tiel, Wijchen,...
. It has approximately 11.000 inhabitants. Zelhem is located in the municipality of Bronckhorst
Bronckhorst
Bronckhorst is the name of a municipality in Gelderland, the Netherlands. The municipality is the result of a merger of the former municipalities Hengelo, Hummelo en Keppel, Steenderen, Vorden and Zelhem, on 1 January 2005...
, about 7 km northeast of Doetinchem
Doetinchem
Doetinchem is a city and municipality in the east of the Netherlands. It is situated along the Oude IJssel river in a part of the province of Gelderland called the Achterhoek . The municipality has 56,700 inhabitants and has an area of 79.66 km²...
.
Zelhem was a separate municipality until 2005, when it became a part of Bronckhorst. The municipality used to cover an area of 81.89 km².
History
The village is more than 1200 years old. The modern name Zelhem originated from Salehem. This name was given to the village when a chapel was built and a gift-document was presented to the inhabitants.The name Salehem comes from two words 'Sale' which means 'house' and 'heim' which means 'place where people are home'.
The founder of this chapel was a passionate preacher called Liudger. He brought religion to the land of the Saksen. Between 1450 and 1500 the church as we know it was built. It was dedicated to St. Lambertus, bishop of Maastricht in the time of Ludger (hence the name 'Lambertikerk').
The myth of Smoks Hanne
The village also has a myth of 'Smokshanne'. She lived in Zelhem somewhere in the nineteenth century. Nowadays she's pictured as a good witch flying on a broom. The funny part is that Smokshanne only has one clog (on her left foot) and the broom she's flying on is backwards. It is assumed that Smokshanne lost her clog during flight. Unfortunately there's not much information about this old lady. But when the village celebrated its 1200th anniversary, the theme was all about her.People born in Zelhem
- Jan RemmelinkJan RemmelinkProfessor Jan Remmelink was Attorney General of the High Council of the Netherlands from 1968 to 1989. He headed the Dutch government committee on euthanasia that released the first, official study of the practice of euthanasia in the Netherlands in 1991...
(1922–2003), jurist - Leo Klein GebbinkLeo Klein GebbinkLeo Klein Gebbink is a former field hockey midfield player from The Netherlands, who represented his native country in two consecutive Summer Olympics ....
(born 1968), hockey player
External links
- Information about Zelhem Map of the former municipality, around 1868.
- Oud Zelhem (historical information about Zelhem)
- Link collection on Zelhem