Olst-Wijhe - composition

This composition written by Jason Mitchell

Olst-Wijhe is a municipality in the province of Overijssel, eastern Netherlands. It borders the

Overijssel municipalities of Zwolle to the north, Raalte to the north and east and Deventer to the
south; and the Gelderland municipalities of Voorst, Epe and Heerde to the west.
History and economic activities
Both of the municipality's main towns, Olst and Wijhe, are old towns. Olst, which is believed to
have been founded in the 7th century, is first mentioned in chronicles in 947, Wijhe in 960.
Traditionally, agriculture, cattle, meat processing and the production of bricks in open-air
brickworks along river IJssel were the prime sources of income in the area.
Nowadays, Olst and Wijhe are mainly commuter residences for people working in Deventer and
Zwolle respectively; both towns have had a railroad station on the Zwolle–Nijmegen main line
since 1866. The surrounding land still relies heavily on agriculture. There is some small industry
in Olst and Wijhe.
Merger of municipalities
The present municipality was created on 1 January 2001 through the merger of the two former
municipalities of Olst and Wijhe as part of a nationwide bid to reduce administrative overhead
on the municipal level. The newly merged municipality retained the name of its largest
constituent part, Olst, pending approval of a definitive new name. After proposed neutral names
containing neither "Olst" nor "Wijhe" met with little enthusiasm, it was decided to simply name
the municipality Olst-Wijhe as of 26 March 2002.
A new town hall is being built on the southern outskirts of Wijhe.
Geographical features
Olst-Wijhe is dominated by river IJssel, which partly flows through it and partly forms the border
between the provinces Overijssel and Gelderland. Although this border largely runs along river
IJssel, there are two left-bank exclaves opposite the towns of Olst and Wijhe, in which the
villages of Welsum and Welsumerveld and Marle are situated. There are cable ferries between
Olst and Welsum and between Wijhe and Vorchten in the municipality of Heerde.
Olst-Wijhe is part of the low-lying Salland region. The one metre above mean sea level contour
line runs roughly parallel to the river; the municipality's interior is characterised by flat or gently
rolling grasslands and woodlands at about 10–15 metres above mean sea level.
Apart from river IJssel, several more streams flow through the municipality's territory. They are
called wetering and are amalgamations of natural streams gradually channelised from the 18th
century onwards and specifically dug canals
. From west to east, these are Zandwetering, Soestwetering, Groote Vloedgraven, Oude
Wetering and Nieuwe Wetering. All these streams flow in a south–north direction and come
together at one point or other to eventually form the Zwarte Water river near the city of Zwolle.
On the left side of river IJssel, near the exclave of Welsum, there are several more wetering
streams, all but one of them on the Gelderland side of the border; the exception being the
easternmost of these, the Terwoldsche Wetering, which forms the border between Olst-Wijhe
and Voorst.
Population centres
The municipality consists of the following statistical areas :
Boerhaar
Boskamp
Den Nul
Eikelhof
Elshof
Herxen
Marle
Middel
Olst
Welsum
Wesepe
Wijhe
Transportation
Railway stations: Olst, Wijhe
Attractions
General: mansions and windmills
There are numerous mansions and country houses strewn around the municipality, most of
them built in the 18th century. These include Groot Hoenlo, Klein Hoenlo, Nijendal, De Haere,
Wijnbergen, De Hei and Nijenhuis. The mansions themselves are generally still inhabited or used
for commercial purposes and so cannot be visited, but their grounds are open to visitors to stroll
around.
The mansion of Nijenhuis has been converted into an art gallery with sculpture garden. There
are windmills at Welsum, Olst, Boskamp, Wesepe, Marle and Wijhe. Of these, the ones at
Welsum, Olst, Marle and Wijhe are still fully functional.
Eikelhof
The murder cross, erected in medieval times to commemorate/atone for a highway murder and
source of many apocryphal mythical stories. It bears the legend:
INT JAER UNSES HEREN MCCCC EN XCIII
STIERF HIER JOHAN LUCKENS
BID VOER DE SELE
A small museum of regional geology halfway between Eikelhof and Boskamp
Fortmond
The Fortmond Natural Reserve along the IJssel river
Olst
A Romanesque Protestant church completed in 1264, partly built from its predecessor's
sandstone, otherwise from brick
Het Baken van Overijssel, an installation of modern art made of aluminium at the eastern bank
of river IJssel, signifying the entrance to Overijssel province
Welsum
Welsum has a saddle-roofed Protestant church
Notable people
Harmen Jansen Knickerbocker a Dutch colonist in New Netherland
Jean Jacques Rambonnet a Dutch naval officer, politician and Chief Scout
Gerrit Berkhoff a Dutch chemist and academic
Conny Stuart a Dutch actress, singer and cabaretière
Danique Kerkdijk a Dutch footballer who plays for Brighton & Hove Albion WFC
References
External links