Hellendoorn


Hellendoorn is a municipality and town in the middle of the Dutch province of Overijssel. As of 2019, the municipality had a population of 35,808.
There is an amusement park near the town of Hellendoorn called. At the outskirts of the town there is an ice cream factory from Unilever, where Ben & Jerry's is produced for the European market.

Population centres

The municipality comprises:
Towns:
Hamlets:
*

Topography

''Dutch topographic map of the municipality of Hellendoorn, June 2015''

Geography

The central part of the municipality consists of a hilly and sparsely populated area that extends south into the municipality of Rijssen-Holten, called the Sallandse Heuvelrug. The highest point lies at about above sea level and is part of the Noetselerberg. A large chunk of the area is covered by forest, but there are also heathlands. This scenery is now part of the Sallandse Heuvelrug National Park.
Originally part of the region of Salland, Hellendoorn is now administratively considered part of Twente; a fact reflected in the inclusion of Hellendoorn in the city region of Twente as defined by the Dutch government.

History

The municipality of Hellendoorn is the only place in the Netherlands where gold mining took place. However, mining for gold proved to yield close to nothing in the early 20th century. This is why searching for gold was soon completely abandoned.
The Germans operated a V-2 launching platform near the town of Hellendoorn during World War II, harassing the city of Antwerp.
On March, 22nd 1945, Nijverdal was severely bombed by allied bombers who were targeting the Zwolle-Almelo railway, which is located in town. Over 70 people were killed, mainly at the Grotestraat and Rijssensestraat.
A small part of the film A [Bridge Too Far (1977 film)|A Bridge Too Far] was filmed near Hellendoorn.
In 1955, part of the municipality of Wierden was annexed which is the only part of the municipality located on originally Twente soil. In the late-1970s the quarter of 'het Lochter' arose here.

Notable residents