Herwijnen


Herwijnen is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of West Betuwe, and lies about 11 km east of Gorinchem.
Herwijnen was a separate municipality until 1986, when it was merged with Vuren, Asperen, Heukelum and Spijk as municipality of Lingewaal. Since 2019 Lingewaal merged with Geldermalsen and Neerijnen in the new municipality of West Betuwe.

History

It was first mentioned in 850 as Heriuuinna, and means "meadow of the lord". Herwijnen developed into a stretched dike village. The Dutch Reformed Church dates from 1823. In 1840, it was home to 1,784 people.
The former Fort de Nieuwe Steeg was built in 1878 as part of the, a line of defence to protect Holland. The fort contains two bomb resistant barracks. To the west of Fort Vuren was constructed from a 1844 redoubt.
In 2022 the Dutch Ministry of Defence choose Herwijnen as location for the construction of a new radarstation.

Notable people