Barendrecht

Coordinates: 51°51′N 4°32′E / 51.850°N 4.533°E / 51.850; 4.533
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Barendrecht
A water tower standing in the middle of several small, end 19th-century houses
Water tower of Barendrecht
A flag divided in three horizontal bands. The red center band is wider and contains the top half of a gold lion rampant on the left. The top and bottom white bands contain three equally spaced green rectangles each.
The coat of arms mimics the flag. The bands are equal width, the lion rampant is in the middle and number of green rectangles are changed to four and three on top and two and one in the bottom.
Highlighted position of Barendrecht in a municipal map of South Holland
Location in South Holland
Coordinates: 51°51′N 4°32′E / 51.850°N 4.533°E / 51.850; 4.533
CountryNetherlands
ProvinceSouth Holland
Government
 • BodyMunicipal council
 • MayorGovert Veldhuizen (acting) (CDA)
Area
 • Total21.73 km2 (8.39 sq mi)
 • Land19.75 km2 (7.63 sq mi)
 • Water1.98 km2 (0.76 sq mi)
Elevation−1 m (−3 ft)
Population
 (January 2021)[4]
 • Total48,643
 • Density2,463/km2 (6,380/sq mi)
DemonymBarendrechter
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode
2990–2994
Area code0180
Websitewww.barendrecht.nl

Barendrecht (Dutch: [ˈbaːrənˌdrɛxt] ) is a town and municipality in the west of the Netherlands, near Rotterdam, South Holland. The municipality had a population of 48,643 in 2021, and covers an area of 21.73 km2 (8.39 sq mi) of which 1.98 km2 (0.76 sq mi) is water.

The municipality of Barendrecht also includes Barendrecht-Carnisselande and Smitshoek.

History[edit]

The name "Barendrecht" is derived from the Germanic word birni, translated as "mud" or "muddy", and the Latin word trāiectum translated as "to cross (a river)" to denote a muddy river crossing.[5][6]

The current municipality of Barendrecht is located in the area of three former fiefdoms: East-Barendrecht, West-Barendrecht, and Carnisse. The oldest reference to East-Barendrecht is from 1264. These fiefdoms were in Riederwaard, an area reclaimed from water since the 12th century but had to deal with frequent dike breaches throughout the 13th and 14th centuries. Further stages in land reclamation, constituting the major part of modern Barendrecht, were the Binnenland polder (1484), Buitenland polder (1555) and Zuidpolder (1649).

During the French Period, the three fiefdoms were merged into one municipality Barendrecht. After the French Period, it was split into East and West-Barendrecht, but in 1836 it was again united as one municipality.

Demographics[edit]

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1930 4,799—    
1935 5,413+12.8%
1940 5,909+9.2%
1945 7,286+23.3%
1950 7,264−0.3%
1955 7,707+6.1%
1960 8,809+14.3%
1965 10,408+18.2%
1970 12,832+23.3%
1975 14,687+14.5%
YearPop.±%
1980 16,633+13.2%
1985 18,539+11.5%
1990 19,937+7.5%
1995 22,025+10.5%
2000 28,834+30.9%
2005 39,310+36.3%
2010 46,453+18.2%
2015 47,521+2.3%
2020 48,714+2.5%
Source: Municipality of Barendrecht, [7] CBS [8]
Historical number of homes
YearHomes±%
1965 2,763—    
1970 3,587+29.8%
1975 4,510+25.7%
1980 5,402+19.8%
1985 6,403+18.5%
YearHomes±%
1990 7,208+12.6%
1995 8,473+17.5%
2000 11,279+33.1%
2005 15,312+35.8%
2010 18,286+19.4%
Source: Municipality of Barendrecht[9]

The population of Barendrecht increased ten-fold in the last 80 years from just under 5,000 in 1930 to close to 50,000 in 2010.[7] During this time the number of homes increased as well, there was an eight-fold increase in the number of homes in the last 50 years from 2,200 in 1961 to 18,400 in 2011.[9] The overall population increased, whereas the number of persons per household decreased. This is consistent with the general trend in the Netherlands over this period.[10]

In 2021, Barendrecht had a population of 48,771, of which 23,231 were male (49.4%) and 23,825 female (50.6%). According to the civil registry, 21% of its population were under the age of 14, 11% were between 15 and 24 years old, 27% were from 25 to 44, 28% were from 45 to 64 and 13% were 65 years of age or older. The marital status of the municipality was distributed such that 46% of its population was married, 45% never married, 6% divorced and 4% widowed. 26,08% of the population of Barendrecht was from foreign origin. The foreign origin of the municipality was 7,99% Western, 4% Suriname, 3% Turkey, 2% Morocco, 1% Dutch Caribbean and 8,81% from other countries.[11]

Barendrecht had 18,615 households in 2012, this corresponds to an average of 2.5 persons per household. Of these households, 24% were made up of individuals, 30% were couples with no children under 18 living with them and 45% contained children under 18.[11]

Geography[edit]

Detailed topographic map of Barendrecht
Topographic map of Barendrecht

Subdivisions[edit]

Municipalities are the lowest tier of public administration in the Netherlands. They are, however, further subdivided into districts (wijken) and neighbourhoods (buurten) for administrative use. Barendrecht is subdivided into 23 districts, of which 20 are residential, two rural and one all business parks combined. The latter three have the lowest population density and largest area of all districts. The district with the highest population is Meerwede in Vinex-location Carnisselande, this district also has the highest population density.[12] Each district is further subdivided in neighbourhoods. Some district consist of one neighbourhood, others consist of up to 14 neighbourhoods; the rural and business park districts are subdivided the most. The smallest neighbourhood has a size of 0.07 km2 (0.027 sq mi), the largest spans 1.69 km2 (0.65 sq mi). Some neighbourhoods are unpopulated; the largest population density for a neighbourhood in Barendrecht is 9,691/km2 (25,100/sq mi).[13]

Sports[edit]

Barendrecht is home to two football clubs; BVV Barendrecht, which plays at the fourth level of the Dutch football pyramid,[14] and VV Smitshoek which plays at the fifth tier of the football pyramid.[15] BVV Barendrecht won the KNVB Amateur Cup in the 2008–09 season, they were banned from the 2011–12 KNVB Cup after winning their first round matchup.[16][17] In addition to these clubs there are also numerous other sport clubs,[18] including organized badminton,[19] basketball,[20] handball,[21] hockey,[22] korfball,[23] tennis,[24] track and field,[25] volleyball[26] and water polo.[27] Due to its proximity to Rotterdam, Barendrecht occasionally is the scene for road events starting or finishing in Rotterdam, it is the penultimate municipality on the route of the 520 km (320 mi) annual Paris-Rotterdam relay run.[28]

Athletes from Barendrecht have also had individual success, mostly notably quadruple Olympic swimming champion Inge de Bruijn. She won four gold medals, two silver medals and two bronze medals in the freestyle and butterfly events at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics.[29] During her career she won a total of 36 medals in major competitions, 18 of these medals were gold. She has also held three world records in long course swimming.[30] Several players on the Dutch water polo teams during the 1984 and 2000 Summer Olympics were from Barendrecht as well.[31]

Government[edit]

Barendrecht, as all Dutch municipalities, is ruled by both a board of mayor and aldermen and a municipal council. The municipal council is elected every four years.[32] The number of councillors varies over time due to changes in the municipal population. It is the highest administrative body in the municipality and controls public policy. The executive power lies with the executive board, which consists of a mayor and multiple aldermen. The mayor is appointed by the crown and the alderman are elected by the municipal council, typically after each municipal election.[33] Thieu van de Wouw, member of the CDA party, was major of Barendrecht from 1989 to his retirement in 2005.[34] Jan van Belzen was appointed as mayor in July 2005, Van Belzen was mayor of Graafstroom before taking the same function in Barendrecht.[35] In 2011 Van Belzen was appointed for another six-year term as mayor.[36] The municipal council has traditionally been contested by national parties, the first local party was founded for the 2014 elections. The local representation per party typically changed with the national fortunes of these parties. The municipal elections of 2014 had the following results: the local party Our Interest Barendrecht won nine out of 29 seats, Christian Democratic Appeal won the largest share of the popular vote of all national parties in that election. Our Interest Barendrecht won also the elections of 2018 but did not participate in the local government. They also won the elections of 2022, but this time they are the only party governing the municipality.[37]

Municipal election results
2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
Party Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
Our Interest Barendrecht Did not participate 5,661 28.88 9 9,131 44.67 14 12,813 59.56 20
ChristianUnionReformed Political Party 2,504 13.67 4 2,377 13.30 4 2,507 12.79 4 2,406 11.77 3 2,010 9.34 3
Christian Democratic Appeal 3,949 21.56 6 3,481 19.48 6 3,403 17.36 5 2,484 12.15 4 1,480 6.88 2
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy 4,887 26.68 7 5,638 31.55 9 3,239 16.53 5 2,356 11.52 3 1,263 5.87 1
Labour Party 4,118 22.48 6 2,289 12.81 4 1,490 7.60 2 1,665 8.14 2 1,205 5.60 1
GreenLeft 1,923 10.50 3 2,137 11.96 3 866 4.42 1 1,280 6.26 2 1,178 5.48 1
Democrats 66 936 5.11 1 1,950 10.91 3 2,434 12.42 3 1,121 5.48 1 1,024 4.76 1
We Barendrecht Did not participate 541 2.51 0
Total valid votes 18,317 100 27 17,872 100 29 19,600 100 29 20,443 100 29 21,514 100 29
Invalid/blank votes 108 0.59 97 0.54 151 0.76 143 0.69 82 0.38
Total 18,425 17,969 19,751 20,586 21,596
Registered voters/turnout 30,742 59.93 34,540 52.02 35,499 55.64 36,885 55.81 37,963 56.89
Source: 2006,[38] 2010,[39] 2014, [40] 2018,[41] 2022 [42]

Most policy decisions by the municipality do not garner widespread attention. Barendrecht is faced with the same issues as other suburban municipalities in providing public services and managing land-use planning. To study industrial scale carbon capture and storage methods, large-scale demonstration projects have been suggested to study what happens – the safety and other effects can only be fully studied in large-scale experiments.[43] In 2007 it was suggested to inject 10 million metric tons (11,000,000 short tons; 9,800,000 long tons) of carbon dioxide 2 km (1.2 mi) underground in former gas fields in Barendrecht.[44] Earlier studies had suggested to avoid trials in densely populated areas, such as Barendrecht, to eliminate the risk of a repeat of the Lake Nyos disaster.[45] The suggestion to make Barendrecht a test site was met with local criticism, because of the experimental nature of the plan and because no ongoing monitoring of the fields would be performed.[46][47] The municipal council of Barendrecht rejected the plan in June 2009 after their concerns were not met.[48] The central government initially opted to overrule the council; they reversed their opinion in October 2010 and cancelled the plan.[44][49]

Infrastructure[edit]

Aerial view of a traffic interchange with trees and houses in the rest of the image
Vaanplein interchange

Road[edit]

Two Dutch motorways pass through Barendrecht:

  • The A15 runs west to east along the northern part of the town and is part of the Rotterdam ring road. Its exit at IJsselmonde is located in the north-east of Barendrecht.
  • The A29 runs north to south and divides Smitshoek and Carnisselande from the rest of Barendrecht. Its exit at Barendrecht is located in the south of the municipality. South of Barendrecht, it passes through the Heinenoordtunnel under the Oude Maas.

Vaanplein, the interchange between the A15 and A29, is situated within the borders of Barendrecht.[50]

Rail[edit]

Glass entrance to station with bikes in front
West entrance to the railway station

A number of railways pass through Barendrecht:

  • The Breda–Rotterdam railway, originally known as Staatslijn I when it opened in 1872, runs along the east side of Barendrecht. The Barendrecht railway station is located on this line; it was initially opened in 1872 before moving to its current location in 2001.
  • The HSL-Zuid is the high-speed rail line between Amsterdam and the Belgium border passing through Rotterdam. The southern section of the dedicated line branches off from the conventional line just north of Barendrecht and runs parallel to it through the town, but trains do not stop.
  • The Betuweroute, a double track freight railway from Rotterdam to Germany, runs along the north and eastern sides of Barendrecht, at one point paralleling the passenger line and HSL-Zuid. Queen Beatrix opened this route in 2007.[51]

The nine tracks of all three of these lines, which run through the railway station, are covered over a length of 1.5 km (0.9 mi) to reduce the noise to the surrounding neighbourhoods.[52] Nederlandse Spoorwegen services the station, with trains departing towards Dordrecht to the southeast and Rotterdam to the northwest four times an hour during the day during weekdays, reduced to two times an hour during the rest of the railways' normal service hours.[53][54]

A major junction between the three railway lines north of the station was the site of a train accident in 2009. Two freight trains collided head on, killing one of the drivers and serious injuring another. A passenger train could not stop in time and collided with the wreckage.[55][56]

RET tram line 25 at its southern terminus of Carnisselande

Local public transit[edit]

As a suburb of Rotterdam, commuters in Barendrecht have access to extensive local transport services operated by RET, whose tram line 25 runs north-south through the western part of Barendrecht with its southern terminus in Carnisselande. The tram runs to the Rotterdam Centraal railway station through the city centre and beyond to its northern terminus in Schiebroek.

The RET also operates several bus lines through Barendrecht:

  • three lines, via different routes, from the railway station to Zuidplein,
  • a line from the railway station to Kralingse Zoom,
  • a short local route from Zuidplein to the Barendrecht community of Smitshoek, and
  • another short line departing from the east side of the railway station.

Arriva runs two additional bus lines: a line from city hall to the Heinenoord bus terminal, and a line from the Barendrecht railway station to the Zwijndrecht railway station.[57]

Notable people[edit]

Inge de Bruijn, 2012

Gallery[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "drs J. (Jan) van Belzen". Samenstelling College (in Dutch). Gemeente Barendrecht. Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  2. ^ "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2020" [Key figures for neighbourhoods 2020]. StatLine (in Dutch). CBS. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Postcodetool for 2991AA". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  4. ^ "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 1 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  5. ^ de Vries, Jan (1962). Woordenboek der Noord- en Zuidnederlandse plaatsnamen [Dictionary of North and South Netherlands place names] (in Dutch). Utrecht: Het Spectrum.
  6. ^ Moerman, H.J. (1956). Nederlandse plaatsnamen: Een overzicht [Dutch place names: A overview] (in Dutch). Location: E.J.Brill. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Bevolkingsgroei vanaf 1930-2010" [Population growth from 1930-2010]. Demografische gegevens (Links to PDF) (in Dutch). Municipality of Barendrecht: Research and Statistics. November 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  8. ^ Regionale kerncijfers Nederland
  9. ^ a b "Groei woningvoorraad 1961-2011" [Growth number of homes 1961-2011]. Gegevens woningen (Links to PDF) (in Dutch). Municipality of Barendrecht: Research and Statistics. November 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  10. ^ "Bevolking, huishoudens en bevolkingsontwikkeling; vanaf 1899" [Population, households and population growth; from 1899]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  11. ^ a b "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten" [Key figures for neighbourhoods]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  12. ^ a b "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2009-2012" [Key figures and neighborhoods 2009-2012]. statline.cbs.nl. 11 April 2014. Archived from the original on 7 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  13. ^ "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2009-2012" [Key figures and neighborhoods 2009-2012]. statline.cbs.nl. 1 August 2014. Archived from the original on 28 August 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  14. ^ "Zaterdag Topklasse" [Saturday Topklasse]. Clubs & Competities [Clubs & Competitions] (in Dutch). KNVB. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  15. ^ "Zaterdag Hoofdklasse B 2012/2013" [Saturday Hoofdklasse B 2012/2013]. vvsmitshoek.nl (in Dutch). VV Smitshoek. Archived from the original on 14 July 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  16. ^ "Barendrecht wint de KNVB-beker" [Barendrecht wins KNVB Cup]. rijnmond.nl (in Dutch). RTV Rijnmond. 13 June 2009. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  17. ^ "Barendrecht uit competitie KNVB beker gezet" [Barendrecht banned from KNVB Cup]. knvb.nl (in Dutch). KNVB. 14 September 2011. Archived from the original on 14 July 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  18. ^ "Sport". lokaaltotaal.nl (in Dutch). Gemeente Barendrecht. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  19. ^ "The Flying Shuttle" (in Dutch). Badminton club The Flying Shuttle. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  20. ^ "CBV Binnenland" (in Dutch). Christelijke basketbal vereniging Binnenland. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  21. ^ "SAVOSA" (in Dutch). Handbalvereniging SAVOSA. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  22. ^ "HC Barendrecht" (in Dutch). Hockeyclub Barendrecht. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  23. ^ "K.V. Vitesse" (in Dutch). Korfbalvereniging Vitesse. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  24. ^ "TV Barendrecht" (in Dutch). Tennisvereniging Barendrecht. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  25. ^ "C.A.V. Energie" (in Dutch). Christelijke atletiekvereniging Energie. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  26. ^ "Spirit" (in Dutch). Christelijke volleyballvereniging Spirit. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  27. ^ "ZPB" (in Dutch). Zwem- en Polovereniging Barendrecht. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  28. ^ "Route 2013". roparun.nl (in Dutch). Roparun. Archived from the original on 10 June 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  29. ^ "Inge de Bruin medals". olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  30. ^ "Inge de Bruijn krijgt FBK-Carriereprijs" [Inge de Bruijn gets FBK career prize]. nocnsf.nl (in Dutch). NOC*NSF. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  31. ^ "Olympic Athletes Born in Barendrecht, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  32. ^ Article 129, Constitution of the Netherlands. Retrieved on 24 April 2013.
  33. ^ "Gemeentewet [Municipalities Act]" [Municipalities Act]. Article 61.1 and 35.1, Act No. 96 of 14 February 1992 (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  34. ^ "M. Th. van de Wouw overleden" [M. Th. van de Wouw passed away]. Het Zuiden Barendrecht (in Dutch). Wegener Media. 24 March 2009. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  35. ^ "Van Belzen burgemeester Barendrecht" [Van Belzen mayor Barendrecht]. rijnmond.nl (in Dutch). RTV Rijnmond. 20 March 2005. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  36. ^ "Herbenoeming Jan van Belzen" [Jan van Belzen reappointed]. Het Zuiden Barendrecht (in Dutch). Wegener Media. 17 May 2011. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  37. ^ Nieuwe college deels geïnstalleerd: Van der Linden en Vermaat wethouder, zoektocht naar 2 anderen gaat verder, Barendrecht NU, 7 April 2022
  38. ^ Gemeenteraad 7 maart 2006, Kiesraad
  39. ^ Gemeenteraad 3 maart 2010, Kiesraad
  40. ^ Gemeenteraad 19 maart 2014, Kiesraad
  41. ^ Gemeenteraad 21 maart 2018, Kiesraad
  42. ^ Gemeenteraad 16 maart 2022, Kiesraad
  43. ^ Van Noorden, Richard (18 February 2010). "Carbon sequestration: Buried trouble". Nature. 463 (7283). Nature Publishing Group: 871–873. doi:10.1038/463871a. PMID 20164897. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  44. ^ a b "Dutch Drop Plan to Store Carbon Dioxide Underground". Fox News. The Hague: Associated Press. 4 November 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  45. ^ Chazan, Guy (21 April 2009). "Shell's Plan to Lead in Storage of Carbon Dioxide Hits a Snag". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  46. ^ "Nee tegen CO2 is weloverwogen" [No against CO2 is thought-out]. Technisch Weekblad (in Dutch). Bèta Publishers. 18 April 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  47. ^ "Carbon storage? Dutch town says not here". NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal. 11 October 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  48. ^ Principebesluit CO2 opslag [Principle decision carbon storage], Gemeente Barendrecht. 29 June 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  49. ^ "Chronologie CO2-opslag Barendrecht" [Chronology carbon storage Barendrecht]. Trouw (in Dutch). Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau. 4 November 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  50. ^ ANWB Wegenkaart Nederland [ANWB road map Netherlands] (Map). 1 :300,000. ANWB Wegenkaart (in Dutch). ANWB. November 2012. ISBN 9789018035891.
  51. ^ "Koningin opent 16 juni 2007 Betuweroute" [Queen opens Betuweroute 16 June 2007]. Het Koninklijk huis (in Dutch). RVD. 9 May 2007. Archived from the original on 5 June 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
  52. ^ "De kap van Barendrecht" [The roofed structure of Barendrecht]. Barendrecht Educatief (in Dutch). Historische Vereniging Barendrecht. Archived from the original on 17 May 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  53. ^ "Vertrekstaat Barendrecht richting Rotterdam, Den Haag" [Timetable Barendrecht towards Rotterdam, The Hague] (PDF) (in Dutch). NS. 9 December 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  54. ^ "Vertrekstaat Barendrecht richting Dordrecht, Breda/Roosendaal" [Timetable Barendrecht towards Dordrecht, Breda/Roosendaal] (PDF) (in Dutch). NS. 9 December 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  55. ^ "Collision between two goods trains and a passenger train, Barendrecht, 24 September 2009". Investigations. Dutch Safety Board. January 2011. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  56. ^ "Treinongeluk nabij Barendrecht" [Train collision near Barendrecht] (PDF) (in Dutch). Dutch Safety Board. January 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2013.[permanent dead link]
  57. ^ Openbaar Vervoer Stadsregio Rotterdam 2013 [Public transit Rotterdam region 2013] (Map) (in Dutch). Cartography by Carto Studio. RET and Connexion. 9 December 2012. § Zone 5328.

External links[edit]