For other uses see Ouwerkerk (disambiguation).
Ouwerkerk | |
Settlement Type: | Village |
Native Name Lang: | nl |
Pushpin Map: | Netherlands Zeeland#Netherlands |
Pushpin Label Position: | left |
Pushpin Mapsize: | 250 |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | Netherlands |
Subdivision Type1: | Province |
Subdivision Name1: | Zeeland |
Subdivision Type2: | Municipality |
Subdivision Name2: | Schouwen-Duiveland |
Elevation Footnotes: | [1] |
Elevation M: | -0.3 |
Area Total Km2: | 10.69 |
Population Footnotes: | [2] |
Population Total: | 575 |
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: | 4305 |
Area Code Type: | Dialing code |
Area Code: | 0111 |
Coordinates: | 51.6244°N 3.9828°W |
Ouwerkerk is a village in the southwest Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland, Zeeland about 60 km south of Rotterdam.
Ouwerkerk is the oldest village of the former island of Duiveland, possibly founded in the eleventh century. The village got its current name after a church was built in Nieuwerkerk. The name of Ouwerkerk before the establishment of Nieuwerkerk is unknown. Ouwerkerk was built as a rundling with a church in the center of the surviving Ring.
The medieval tower of the church, originally dedicated to Gertrude the Great, was blown up by German troops in 1945, in a blast that seriously damaged the rest of the church. After World War II, the remains of the church and tower were demolished. In 1956 a new church was built. In 1957 the separate tower was completed.
During the North Sea flood of 1953 Ouwerkerk was hit hard: one in six residents died. Many buildings, including a wooden octagonal flour mill, were lost. The breach of the dike at Ouwerkerk was the last one to be closed in the night of 6 to 7 November 1953.
Ouwerkerk was a separate municipality until 1961, when it was merged with the other villages of the former island of Duiveland, into the municipality of Duiveland. On January 1 1997 Duiveland merged with the five other municipalities into Schouwen-Duiveland.
In the four caissons that were used for the closure of the dike, the Dutch Watersnoodmuseum has been established in 2001. In 2003, at the 50th anniversary of the North Sea flood of 1953, Queen Beatrix visited Ouwerkerk.
The Watersnoodmuseum on the south side of the village is its main attraction. To the east of the museum (south-east of Ouwerkerk) are Brasserie De Vierbannen and Camping De Vierbannen. West of the museum (southwest of the village) are Ouwerkerk's beaches on Easter Scheldt.
In 1940 an association football club, SV Ouwerkerk, was established in the village. The club played in the Zesde Klasse in the late 1990s and in the Vijfde Klasse in the early 2000s. In 2015 it celebrated its 75th anniversary.