*** Welcome to piglix ***

Barendrecht

Barendrecht
Municipality
A water tower standing in the middle of several small, end 19th-century houses
Water tower of Barendrecht
A flag divided in three horizontal bands. The red center band is wider and contains the top half of a gold lion rampant on the left. The top and bottom white bands contain three equally spaced green rectangles each.
Flag 		The coat of arms mimics the flag. The bands are equal width, the lion rampant is in the middle and number of green rectangles are changed to four and three on top and two and one in the bottom.
Coat of arms
Highlighted position of Barendrecht in a municipal map of South Holland
Location in South Holland
Coordinates: 51°51′N 4°32′E / 51.850°N 4.533°E / 51.850; 4.533Coordinates: 51°51′N 4°32′E / 51.850°N 4.533°E / 51.850; 4.533
Country Netherlands
Province South Holland
Government
 • Body Municipal council
 • Mayor Jan van Belzen (SGP)
Area
 • Total 21.73 km2 (8.39 sq mi)
 • Land 19.83 km2 (7.66 sq mi)
 • Water 1.90 km2 (0.73 sq mi)
Elevation −1 m (−3 ft)
Population (May 2014)
 • Total 47,442
 • Density 2,392/km2 (6,200/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Barendrechter
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postcode 2990–2994
Area code 0180
Website www.barendrecht.nl

Barendrecht (About this sound pronunciation ) is a town and lordship in the Netherlands, located as a suburb of Rotterdam in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 47,442 in 2014, and covers an area of 21.73 km2 (8.39 sq mi) of which 1.90 km2 (0.73 sq mi) is water. The writer Jan Geurt Gaarlandt has been Lord of Barendrecht since 1995.

The municipality of Barendrecht also includes the following communities: Barendrecht-Carnisselande, Smitshoek.

The name "Barendrecht" is derived from the Germanic word birni, translated as "mud" or "muddy", and the Latin word trāiectum translated as "to cross (a river)" to denote a muddy river crossing.

The current municipality of Barendrecht is located in the area of three former fiefdoms: East-Barendrecht, West-Barendrecht, and Carnisse. The oldest reference to East-Barendrecht is from 1264. These fiefdoms were in Riederwaard, an area reclaimed from water since the 12th century but had to deal with frequent dike breaches throughout the 13th and 14th centuries. Further stages in land reclamation, constituting the major part of modern Barendrecht, were the Binnenland polder (1484), Buitenland polder (1555) and Zuidpolder (1649).

During the French Period, the three fiefdoms were merged into one municipality Barendrecht. After the French Period, it was split into East and West-Barendrecht, but in 1836 it was again united as one municipality.


...
Wikipedia

...