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Concept
Neder-Betuwe
Summary
Neder-Betuwe (ˌneːdər ˈbeːtyʋə) is a municipality in the province of Gelderland, in the east of the Netherlands. On 1 April 2003, it was established as the new name of the redivided municipality of Kesteren. Neder-Betuwe counted 25,042 inhabitants on 1 january 2022.
Archaeological excavations have found remains dating back to the Stone Age and Iron Age although it is not known if the area was permanently inhabited. The Neder-Betuwe area is along the northernmost border or limes of the Roman empire. Evidence suggests that a Roman fort (Castra) was maintained where the town of Kesteren now is.
Around 1300 the first dikes were put up to protect the inhabitants and agricultural lands from flooding.
Most churches are reformed, there are no Catholic churches in the Neder-Betuwe area. The eastern municipal border also marks an invisible religious border, to the east a considerable part of the population is Catholic. This can be explained by the presence of a dike called the Spanjaardsdijk or Spaniards Dike which was built before or during the Eighty Years' War. The local ruler was Protestant, the rulers to the east were Catholic.
During World War II the area saw a lot of fighting. During the German invasion in May 1940 the area was attacked since it was on the southern flank of the attack towards the Grebbeberg. In September 1944 the area again came under fire during and after operation Market Garden. The narrowest part of the Betuwe became the western front of the allied bridgehead in the area. Opheusden was basically ruined because of the constant fighting between the Germans and the 101st Airborne Division and later British forces and the 1st Belgian Infantry Brigade. Ochten was flattened by British forces using artillery and mortars from south of the Waal.
In February 1995, Ochten received international media attention because of a weakened dike after a prolonged period of high waterlevels in the rivers. This situation and the state of other dikes forced 250,000 people in this region to evacuate.
Official source
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