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Province of Drenthe (Dr)

Click on any of the following links to find out more about churches in cities and villages in Drenthe:

(Links in bold refer to pages showing a selection of churches in specific towns, villages or municipalities (these are marked "mun."), all others refer directly to descriptions of a specific church. For an overview of all churches in Drenthe that are described in more detail on Archimon see the pictorial index.)

Anloo
Assen
Barger-Compascuum

Barger-Oosterveld
Beilen
Coevorden
Diever
Dwingeloo
Emmen (mun.)
Emmer-Compascuum
Havelte
Hoogeveen
Koekange
Nijeveen

Noordenveld (mun.)
Norg
Peize
Roden
Ruinen
Steenwijksmoer

Vledder
Vries

Westerveld (mun.)
Zuidlaren

Drenthe is one of the least populated province of the Netherlands. It's economic position has always been one of the weakest of the country. In the early Middle Ages Drenthe was a county, but in 1024 German emperor Henry II handed the area to the bishop of Utrecht. In that period parts of the current province of Groningen, including the town of Groningen, belonged to Drenthe. In 1522 Drenthe was conquered by Gelre, which itself was absorbed by the empire of emperor Charles V in 1536. In 1559 Drenthe became part of the newly founded diocese of Groningen. The Reformation at first had little effect on Drenthe. This changed after 1596, when stadtholder Willem Lodewijk started an eventually very effective campaign against the catholics. Although Drenthe was a part of the Republic it continued to be an isolated part of the country, due to the fact that it had no representatives in the government. The government in Holland kept Drenthe poor with high taxes. The province had only two towns, Meppel and Coevorden, althoughl in the 17th and 18th century the village of Assen became the centre of the regional government. In 1809 Assen became a town. In 1815 Drenthe became a true province, with the same rights as the other provinces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
In the 19th century peat-digging became a majore trade in Drenthe, and settlements emerged in parts of the province that until then had been uninhabited. Immigration of workers increased the numbers of catholics and jews, as well as of members of dissident protestant denominations.
   
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