| Molenwaard | |
| Settlement Type: | Former municipality |
| Flag Size: | 100x67px |
| Map Alt: | Highlighted position of Molenwaard in a municipal map of South Holland |
| Coordinates: | 51.8667°N 51°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Netherlands |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | South Holland |
| Subdivision Type2: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name2: | Molenlanden |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Date: | 1 January 2013[1] |
| Extinct Title: | Merged |
| Extinct Date: | 1 January 2019 |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [2] |
| Elevation M: | -1 |
| Timezone1: | CET |
| Utc Offset1: | +1 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postcode |
| Postal Code: | 2957–2977 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | 0184 |
Molenwaard [3] (in Dutch; Flemish pronounced as /ˈmoːlə(ɱ)ˌʋaːrt/) is a former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the southeastern part of the province of South Holland, and the northwestern part of the region of Alblasserwaard. It was the result of a merger of the municipalities of Graafstroom, Liesveld, and Nieuw-Lekkerland on 1 January 2013. On 1 January 2019 it merged with Giessenlanden, together they form the new municipality of Molenlanden.[4] Molenwaard had about 29,000 inhabitants and an area of about 126km2. The largest settlements are Bleskensgraaf, Groot-Ammers, and Nieuw-Lekkerland.
Molenwaard is a landscape of polders, consisting of large pastures traversed by ditches and canals, like the Groote- of Achterwaterschap, and the Ammersche Boezem. In the outermost northwest are the windmills of Kinderdijk. About 1.5 m below sea level, the municipality is bordered by the Lek river in the north and briefly the Noord river in the west. The Graafstroom and the Alblas flow through it.
Religiously, the municipality is part of the Bible Belt, resulting in the dominance of the Christian parties in politics.
Molenwaard consists of the following settlements:
Map of the municipality of Molenwaard, June 2015
Elections were held on 21 November 2012 for the first council of the new municipality of Molenwaard, which took office on 2 January 2013. The 21 seats divided as follows:[5]
| Municipal council seats | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | 2013 | ||||||||||||||
| Reformed Political Party (SGP) | 5 | ||||||||||||||
| Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) | 5 | ||||||||||||||
| ChristianUnion (CU) | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Labour Party (PvdA) | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| Gemeentebelangen Molenwaard | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 21 | ||||||||||||||
There was an election in November 2018 for the new merged Molenlanden municipality that commenced work on 1 January 2019, replacing Molenwaard council.[6]