Zetten
Overview
Zetten is a village in the Overbetuwe
Overbetuwe
Overbetuwe is a municipality in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 January 2001 as a merger of three former municipalities: Elst, Heteren and Valburg. Overbetuwe is bordered in the north by the river Rhine and in the south by the river Waal. The city hall is located...

 municipality, 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,...

, 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...

. The village is located in the Betuwe
Betuwe
The Betuwe is an area in the Netherlands in the province of Gelderland...

.

This is also the base of the (forensic) youth-clinic Ottho Gerard Heldringstichting
Ottho Gerard Heldringstichting
Ottho Gerard Heldringstichting is a Dutch juvenile detention and treatment centre in Zetten, The Netherlands. The facility is a private managed centre for youth with severe behavior and often also psychriatic problems...

, which was quite (in)famous in the 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...

.
Archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...

 finds indicate that the area around Zetten and the neighbouring village of Herveld
Herveld
Herveld is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Overbetuwe.Herveld was a separate municipality until 1818, when the area was divided between Loenen en Wolferen and Valburg....

 was inhabited in the Roman era
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

. The area was located on the border of the Empire and the area inhabited by Germanic tribes
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...

.

It is located between two rivers, on slightly higher ground, such that is was less often flooded in times when no dykes were present.

The settlement of Sethone (Zetten) was mentioned in a deed
Deed
A deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, or affirms or confirms something which passes, an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions sealed...

 of 1005, in which Heribert of Cologne
Heribert of Cologne
Saint Heribert was Archbishop of Cologne and Chancellor of Emperor Otto III, and was canonized c. 1074.-Life:He was born in Worms, the son of Hugo, count of Worms. He was educated in the school of Worms Cathedral and at the Benedictine Gorze Abbey in Lorraine...

 gave the local church to the monastery in Deutz
Cologne-Deutz
Cologne-Deutz, often just Deutz, is an inner city part of Cologne, Germany and a formerly independent town.Lufthansa's headquarters are in Deutz.-History:...

.

Six inhabitants of Zetten lost their lives in floodings of the Betuwe in 1809.

The area around Zetten and the nearby village of Hemmen
Hemmen
Hemmen is a small village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Overbetuwe, 1 km northwest of Zetten.Hemmen was a separate municipality until 1955, when it was merged with Valburg....

 saw heavy fighting in the winter of 1944 and 1945, in the aftermath of Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time....

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Zetten had a population of 510 in 1840.
 
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