The Lek ( Dutch pronunciation: [lɛk] ) is a river in the western Netherlands of some 60 km (37 mi) in length. It is the continuation of the Nederrijn after the Kromme Rijn branches off at the town of Wijk bij Duurstede . The main westbound waterway is hereafter called the Lek River. The Nederrijn is, itself, a distributary branch of the river Rhine .
31-636: Portions of the river form the boundary between the provinces of Utrecht and Gelderland , and between Utrecht and South Holland. In Roman times, the Nederrijn flowed into the Kromme Rijn and these streams were the main outflow of the river Rhine. When the Kromme Rijn began to silt up in the Middle Ages, the Lek became the primary branch. A short distance past Wijk bij Duurstede, the river intersects with
62-583: A more detailed description he writes: The island of the Batavi was the appointed rendezvous because of its easy landing-places, and its convenience for receiving the army and carrying the war across the river. For the Rhine after flowing continuously in a single channel or encircling merely insignificant islands, divides itself, so to say, where the Batavian territory begins, into two rivers, retaining its name and
93-731: A new name: The gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was €78.3 billion in 2018, accounting for 10.1% of the Netherlands' economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €33,000 or 110% of the EU27 average in the same year. Religion in Gelderland (2015) In 2015, 23.2% of the population belonged to the Protestant Church in the Netherlands , while 21.6% were Roman Catholic , 3.6% were Muslim , and 5.3% adhered to other churches or faiths. Close to half of
124-506: A part of the Chatti , a tribe in Germany never mentioned by Caesar, who were forced by internal dissension to move to their new home. Tacitus also reports that before their arrival the area had been "an uninhabited district on the extremity of the coast of Gaul , and also of a neighbouring island, surrounded by the ocean in front, and by the river Rhine in the rear and on either side". In
155-709: A pre-Roman and pre-Germanic population, apparently already called the Batavians. Caesar indeed had not only implied the existence of pre-Roman Batavians, but also mentioned that the Belgic Menapii of the Flemish coast had settlements stretching as far as the beginning of the delta, near the modern border with Germany. During the Roman Empire there was a civitas of the Batavians , a Germanic tribe. It
186-540: A short-lived Batavian Republic . The name Batavia was also taken to the colonies such as the Dutch East Indies , where they renamed the city of Jayakarta to become Batavia from 1619 until about 1942, when its name was changed to Djakarta (short for the former name Jayakarta, later respelt Jakarta; see: History of Jakarta ). The name was also used in Suriname , where they founded Batavia, Suriname , and in
217-481: Is a province of the Netherlands , located in the centre-east of the country. With a total area of 5,136 km (1,983 sq mi) of which 176 km (68 sq mi) is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by total area. Gelderland shares borders with six other provinces ( Flevoland , Limburg , North Brabant , Overijssel , South Holland and Utrecht ) and
248-489: Is a historical and geographical region in the Netherlands , forming large fertile islands in the river delta formed by the waters of the Rhine (Dutch: Rijn ) and Meuse (Dutch: Maas ) rivers. During the Roman Empire , it was an important frontier region and source of imperial soldiers. Its name is possibly pre-Roman. Administratively, the modern version, Betuwe, is a part of the modern province of Gelderland and although
279-617: Is the most famous island of the Batavi and the Canninefates". Its later Roman history is attested by Ammianus Marcellinus who mentions the Frankish Salians as a people living there. Zosimus is the only classical author who claims that they had first crossed the Rhine during the Roman upheavals and subsequent Germanic breakthrough in 260 AD. Both authors agree that from Batavia they were pushed south, into Toxandria . In
310-605: The Amsterdam-Rhine Canal , which continues south towards the Waal . A branch of this canal, the Lekkanaal (Lek Canal) is connected to the river at the city of Nieuwegein . Other major towns on its banks are Culemborg , Vianen , Schoonhoven , Nieuw-Lekkerland , Lekkerkerk and Krimpen aan de Lek . The bed of the river lies slightly higher than the surrounding lands and dikes are therefore essential to contain
341-516: The Betuwe in the southwest, the Achterhoek (literally meaning the "back corner") or Graafschap (which originally means earldom or county) in the east and the city-region of Arnhem and Nijmegen in the centre-south. In 2020, the 51 municipalities in Gelderland were divided into four COROPs : These municipalities were merged with neighbouring ones: These municipalities were merged and given
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#1732781025512372-517: The Betuweroute , passes through the Betuwe. It was opened in 2007 after many years of controversy. The Betuwe region is divided into nine municipalities : Lingewaard , Arnhem (southern part), Nijmegen (northern part), Overbetuwe , Neder-Betuwe , Buren , Tiel , Culemborg and West Betuwe . The region is characterised by its many orchards, and is for centuries known as the fruit garden of
403-583: The Carolingian and Ottonian periods in the early Middle Ages , Batavia, called Batua by the Franks , was an example of a Frankish gau that was based on much older Roman pagi . Several counts are recorded as having their counties there, and it is mentioned in the treaties such as the Treaty of Meerssen , that divided up Europe among the different Frankish kingdoms. Later, it was mainly absorbed into
434-912: The French Empire (1810–13), Gelderland became a province of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815. During the Second World War , it saw heavy fighting between Allied Paratroopers, British XXX Corps and the German II SS Panzer Corps , at the Battle of Arnhem . In Gelderland there are many museums, like the Netherlands Open Air Museum and Museum Arnhem in Arnhem, Valkhof Museum in Nijmegen,
465-793: The GelreDome stadium in Arnhem. Every year the municipality Renkum and Overbetuwe receive a large amount of tourist visiting because of the Battle of Arnhem . Often historical locations are visited, like the John Frost Bridge and the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery in Oosterbeek . Gelderland can roughly be divided into four geographical regions: the Veluwe in the north, the Rivierenland including
496-466: The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia . The capital is Arnhem (pop. 159,265 ); however, Nijmegen (pop. 176,731) and Apeldoorn (pop. 162,445) are both larger municipalities. Other major regional centres in Gelderland are Ede , Doetinchem , Zutphen , Harderwijk , Tiel , Wageningen , Zevenaar , and Winterswijk . Gelderland had a population of about 2,134,000 as of January 2023. It contains
527-865: The Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn and in Otterlo the Kröller-Müller Museum . There are several large theatres in Gelderland such as the Stadsschouwburg in Nijmegen, Stadstheater in Arnhem and Orpheus (theater) in Apeldoorn. Some cities are also equipped with large concert halls like MUSIS (formerly: Musis sacrum) in Arnhem and Concertgebouw de Vereeniging in Nijmegen. The known by a larger public pop-music venues are Luxor Live in Arnhem, Doornroosje in Nijmegen, Gigant in Apeldoorn and
558-607: The Union of Utrecht (1579). After the deposition of Philip II, its sovereignty was vested in the States of Gelderland , and the princes of Orange were stadtholders . In 1672, the province was temporarily occupied by Louis XIV and, in 1713, the southeastern part, including the ducal capital of Geldern, fell to Prussia . Part of the Batavian Republic (1795–1806), of Louis Bonaparte 's Kingdom of Holland (1806–10), and of
589-575: The Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV . After 1379, the duchy was ruled from Jülich and by the counts of Egmond and Cleves . The duchy resisted Burgundian domination, but William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg was forced to cede it to Charles V in 1543, after which it formed part of the Burgundian-Habsburg hereditary lands. The duchy revolted with the rest of the Netherlands against Philip II of Spain and joined
620-721: The Lek. At the village of Kinderdijk the Lek meets the Noord River and the combined stream is thereafter known as the Nieuwe Maas as it flows down towards the North Sea . 51°53′25″N 4°37′54″E / 51.89034°N 4.63156°E / 51.89034; 4.63156 Gelderland Gelderland ( / ˈ ɡ ɛ l d ər l ə n d / , Dutch: [ˈɣɛldərlɑnt] ), also known as Guelders ( / ˈ ɡ ɛ l d ər z / ) in English,
651-595: The Netherlands's largest forest region (the Veluwe ), the Rhine and other major rivers, and a significant amount of orchards in the south ( Betuwe ). Historically, the province dates from states of the Holy Roman Empire and takes its name from the nearby German city of Geldern . According to the Wichard saga , the Lords of Pont fought and killed a dragon in 878 AD, and named the town they founded after
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#1732781025512682-536: The Netherlands. The "Batavian island" in the Rhine river was mentioned by Julius Caesar in his commentary Commentarii de Bello Gallico . The island's easternmost point is at a split in the Rhine, one arm being the Waal and the other the Lower Rhine / Old Rhine (hence the Latin name Insula Batavorum , "Island of the Batavi"). Much later Tacitus wrote that the Batavians who lived there had originally been
713-607: The United States where the Holland Land Company founded the city and the town of Batavia, New York . This name spread further west in the United States to such places as Batavia, Illinois , near Chicago , and Batavia, Ohio . When the Pannerdens Kanaal was dug between 1701 and 1709, the easternmost tip of the Betuwe (including the towns of Pannerden and Lobith ) was cut off from the rest of
744-548: The death-rattle of the dragon: " Gelre! " The County of Guelders arose out of the Frankish pagus Hamaland in the 11th century around castles near Roermond and Geldern . The counts of Gelre acquired the Betuwe and Veluwe regions and, through marriage, the County of Zutphen . Thus the counts of Guelders laid the foundation for a territorial power that, through control of the Rhine , Waal , Meuse and IJssel rivers,
775-511: The newer county of Guelders which had become established to the southeast. In the Renaissance , the Dutch wanted to rediscover their pre-medieval Batavi culture and history. This common history raised Batavi to the status of cultural ancestors to all Dutch people (see The Batavian revival ). They occasionally called themselves, or their things ( Batavia ), Batavians, resulting even in
806-409: The population (46.3%) identified as non-religious. In the 2001 movie A Knight's Tale , the protagonist, William Thatcher (played by Heath Ledger ) pretends to be a knight known as "Ulrich von Lichtenstein from Gelderland". Betuwe Betuwe ( Dutch pronunciation: [ˈbeːtyu.ə] ), also known in English as Batavia ( / b ə ˈ t eɪ v i ə / bə- TAY -vee-ə ),
837-571: The rapidity of its course in the stream which washes Germany, till it mingles with the ocean. On the Gallic bank, its flow is broader and gentler; it is called by an altered name, the Vahal , by the inhabitants of its shore. Soon that name too is changed for the Mosa river, through whose vast mouth it empties itself into the same ocean. Modern archaeologists disagree with Tacitus, noting that that island had
868-550: The region. In the aftermath of the failed allied Operation Market Garden , the Germans attempted to retake the Allied gains during the Battle of the Nijmegen salient but were unsuccessful. In the period 1940-1990, land consolidation took place throughout the area. This made further economies of scale and departmentalisation in the fruit production possible. In 1995, a large part of this area had to be evacuated because
899-531: The rivers and provinces have changed over history it is roughly the same. Today it has the Waal river on the south and the Lek and Nederrijn in the north (all rivers which start in the delta itself and are branches of the Rhine or Maas). Historically, the former municipality of Rijnwaarden belonged to Betuwe, now in Zevenaar , which was cut off by the building of the Pannerdens Kanaal . A major freight railroad,
930-675: Was described as a large island between rivers in the Rhine-Meuse delta , the modern equivalent of Betuwe. The Batavians shared the island with the Canninefates , to their west near the coast. Their Roman city was Nijmegen . The name was also mentioned by Pliny the Elder , and it played a role in the account by Tacitus of the Germanic uprising of 68 . He said that "In the Rhine itself, nearly 100 miles [160 kilometres] in length, Batavia
961-413: Was to play an important role in the later Middle Ages . The geographical position of their territory dictated the external policy of the counts during the following centuries; they were committed to the interests of the Holy Roman Empire and to expansion south and west. Further enlarged by the acquisition of the imperial city of Nijmegen in the 13th century, the countship was raised to a duchy in 1339 by