| Ruinerwold | |
| Settlement Type: | Village |
| Pushpin Map: | Netherlands Drenthe#Netherlands |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in province of Drenthe in the Netherlands |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Netherlands |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Drenthe |
| Subdivision Type2: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name2: | De Wolden |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [1] |
| Elevation M: | 2 |
| Area Total Km2: | 34.45 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 3,950 |
| 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: | 7961 |
| Area Code Type: | Dialing code |
| Area Code: | 0522 |
| Coordinates: | 52.7228°N 6.2506°W |
Ruinerwold is a village in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is located in the municipality of De Wolden, about 6 km northeast of Meppel.
The village was first mentioned in 1792 as Ruiner wold, and means "woods belonging to Ruinen".[3] Ruinerwold is a road village which developed on a sandy ridge in the 12th century.[4]
The Dutch Reformed church is located in the former hamlet of which has merged into Ruinerwold.[3] [4] It has been built in the 15th century using material of this predecessor which was built around 1150 and had been damaged by fire. The upper part of the tower was restored after a 1730 fire.[4] Rich farmers formerly lived in Ruinerwold, where they constructed expansive farms with ornate embellishments.[4]
Ruinerwold was home to 1,245 people in 1840. Ruinerwold was a separate municipality until 1998, when it became part of De Wolden.[5]
See main article: Drenthe hermits. In October 2019, a 67-year-old man, Gerrit Jan van Dorsten, and his six adult children were discovered, who had lived for nine years in seclusion in a farm house in Ruinerwold. The father was charged with unlawful deprivation of liberty and harming other people's health.[6] The charges were later dropped due to his poor health.[7]