Oosterleek Explained

Oosterleek
Settlement Type:Village
Native Name Lang:nl
Pushpin Map:Netherlands#Netherlands North Holland
Pushpin Label Position:top
Pushpin Mapsize:250
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in the Netherlands##Location in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Netherlands
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:North Holland
Subdivision Type2:Municipality
Subdivision Name2:Drechterland
Elevation Footnotes:[1]
Elevation M:-0.6
Area Total Km2:1.05
Population Footnotes:[2]
Population Total:105
Population As Of:2021
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:CET
Utc Offset:+1
Timezone Dst:CEST
Utc Offset Dst:+2
Postal Code Type:Postal code
Postal Code:1609
Area Code Type:Dialing code
Area Code:0229
Coordinates:52.6383°N 5.1975°W

Oosterleek is a village in the municipality of Drechterland, in the Dutch province North Holland. The village used to belong to the municipalities Venhuizen (1970–2006) and Wijdenes (pre-1970).

Oosterleek was first noted on a map in 1311 as Oesterleke, in which oester means "eastern" and leke means "stream". This name was supposedly a reference to the fact that the village was located to the east of a stream.[3] During the 17th century, it was a fishing village which was home to a population of about 500 people.[4]

Nowadays, a small bit of Oosterleek lays in the Markermeer, because the levee was moved westwards to guarantee full safety. It is said that this part included a church. The current church was built in 1694. The church was decommissioned in 1972, and is nowadays used for weddings, expositions and concerts. It is also home to local library.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Postcodetool for 1609GA . nl . Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland . Het Waterschapshuis . 29 April 2022 .
  2. Web site: Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2021 . Central Bureau of Statistics . 29 April 2022.
  3. Web site: Oosterleek - (geografische naam) . Etymologiebank . 29 April 2022 . nl.
  4. Web site: Oosterleek . Plaatsengids . 29 April 2022 . nl.