| Hijken | |
| Settlement Type: | Village |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Netherlands |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Drenthe |
| Subdivision Type2: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name2: | Midden-Drenthe |
| Image Map1: | Map NL - Midden-Drenthe - Hijken.png |
| Map Caption1: | The village centre (dark green) and the statistical district (light green) of Hijken in the municipality of Midden-Drenthe. |
| Pushpin Map: | Netherlands Drenthe#Netherlands |
| Pushpin Label Position: | right |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the Netherlands |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [1] |
| Elevation M: | 14 |
| Area Total Km2: | 28.12 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 930 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Density Urban Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 9415 & 9416 |
| Area Code Type: | Dialing code |
| Area Code: | 0593 |
Hijken is a village in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Midden-Drenthe, and lies about 13 km south of Assen, the province capital of Drenthe.
The village was first mentioned in 1370 as "civibus de Hyken". The etymology is unknown.[3] Hijken developed as an esdorp originally without a church in the Early Middle Ages as a satellite of Beilen. In 1858, the was dug which cut the village into two halves.[4] It used be a village of shepherds. In 1563, there were 70 sheep for every building.
Hijken was home to 417 people in 1840.[5] In 1906, a Reformed Church was built. In 1915, a steam dairy factory which doubled as grist mill was built. Between 1928 and 1960, it was used as a Dutch Reformed church and is nowadays used by a fodder and fertilizer company.[4] In 2018, the municipality wanted to demolished the bridge over the canal, however protests have resulted in the construction of a new bridge in 2019.[5]
The village is also known for its surrounding Neanderthal settlements. Late Neolithic Hat graves have been discovered dating to a Bronze Age settlement near Hijken.[6]
There is one primary school, ‘t Hieker Nust.[7]