Nijkerk
Municipality
Aerial view of Nijkerk
Aerial view of Nijkerk
Flag of Nijkerk
Flag
Coat of arms of Nijkerk
Coat of arms
Highlighted position of Nijkerk in a municipal map of Gelderland
Location in Gelderland
Coordinates: 52°14′N 5°29′E / 52.233°N 5.483°E / 52.233; 5.483
CountryNetherlands
ProvinceGelderland
Government
[1]
 • BodyMunicipal council
 • MayorGerard Renkema (CDA)
Area
[2]
 • Total72.04 km2 (27.81 sq mi)
 • Land69.34 km2 (26.77 sq mi)
 • Water2.70 km2 (1.04 sq mi)
Elevation
[3]
1 m (3 ft)
Population
 (January 2021)[4]
 • Total43,600
 • Density629/km2 (1,630/sq mi)
DemonymNijkerker
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode
3860–3871
Area code033
Websitewww.nijkerk.eu

Nijkerk (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈnɛikɛr(ə)k] ⓘ; Dutch Low Saxon: Niekark) is a municipality and a city located in the middle of the Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland.

Population centres

Some people state that Groot Corlaer is a population centre on its own, but it is officially part of Nijkerk.

Transportation

Railway station: Nijkerk

The city of Nijkerk

Dutch Topographic map of Nijkerk, June 2015

The name Nijkerk stems from Nieuwe Kerk (Dutch for New Church). This new church was built after the old chapel had been destroyed by fire in 1221. Nijkerk was strategically located between the Duchy of Guelders (Dutch: Hertogdom Gelre) and the Bishopric of Utrecht. Because of this strategic location Nijkerk regularly was the scene of war, and in 1412 the village was completely destroyed. It was restored and Nijkerk received city rights in 1413. In 1421 the church that gave Nijkerk its name burnt down and was replaced; this happened several times, until a new church, the Grote-of-Sint-Catharinakerk; was built in the 18th century. It still stands today. The organ in this church was built in 1756 by Mathijs van Deventer.

In the 18th century Nijkerk was a flourishing merchant city. Several inhabitants traveled to the New World, such as Arent van Curler and Kiliaen van Rensselaer and founded new cities.

Since World War II, Nijkerk has been growing fast. It is situated on the (former) shore of the IJsselmeer, which allows for transportation of goods via ships, and in the proximity of two major motorways, the E30 (A1) and E232 (A28). This allowed local industries to grow, and also encouraged a lot of people who work in the nearby Randstad to move to the more rural and peaceful town of Nijkerk. The easy access to the Veluwe is also a contributing factor to this growth.

Politics

In 2000, the municipalities of Nijkerk and Hoevelaken merged to form the new municipality of Nijkerk. On August 24, 2011, the municipality announced that Nijkerk had passed the mark of 40,000 inhabitants. The city council was consequently expanded to 27 seats for the 2014 election.[5]

Currently (March, 2020) the seats are divided as follows:

Party Number of seats
CDA8
Christian Union and SGP6
VVD4
Progressief 215
Lokale Partij4

Progressief 21 is a local party combining the local chapters of the Democrats 66, GroenLinks and the Labour Party. The last two parties are local parties that have no national connection.

Geography

Climate

Climate data for Nijkerk
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 14.9
(58.8)		 18.9
(66.0)		 25.4
(77.7)		 29.2
(84.6)		 31.5
(88.7)		 33.9
(93.0)		 37.5
(99.5)		 36.1
(97.0)		 29.6
(85.3)		 26.9
(80.4)		 19.0
(66.2)		 15.3
(59.5)		 37.5
(99.5)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 5.5
(41.9)		 6.0
(42.8)		 9.5
(49.1)		 13.5
(56.3)		 18.0
(64.4)		 20.0
(68.0)		 22.5
(72.5)		 22.5
(72.5)		 19.0
(66.2)		 14.5
(58.1)		 9.5
(49.1)		 6.0
(42.8)		 13.9
(57.0)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 0.0
(32.0)		 0.0
(32.0)		 2.0
(35.6)		 4.0
(39.2)		 8.0
(46.4)		 10.5
(50.9)		 13.0
(55.4)		 12.5
(54.5)		 10.0
(50.0)		 7.0
(44.6)		 3.5
(38.3)		 1.0
(33.8)		 6.0
(42.7)
Record low °C (°F) −20.3
(−4.5)		 −21.9
(−7.4)		 −16.9
(1.6)		 −8.4
(16.9)		 −2.9
(26.8)		 −0.4
(31.3)		 2.5
(36.5)		 2.9
(37.2)		 −2.2
(28.0)		 −7.4
(18.7)		 −11.2
(11.8)		 −15.5
(4.1)		 −21.9
(−7.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 75
(3.0)		 55
(2.2)		 75
(3.0)		 45
(1.8)		 65
(2.6)		 70
(2.8)		 80
(3.1)		 80
(3.1)		 75
(3.0)		 80
(3.1)		 85
(3.3)		 85
(3.3)		 870
(34.3)
Mean monthly sunshine hours 60 85 125 175 210 195 205 190 140 110 60 50 1,605
Source 1: [6]
Source 2: [7]

Notable residents

Christiaan Eijkman, 1929

Sport

Twin town

Nijkerk is twinned with

References

  1. ↑ "Burgemeester Gerard Renkema" [Mayor Gerard Renkema] (in Dutch). Gemeente Nijkerk. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  2. ↑ "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2020" [Key figures for neighbourhoods 2020]. StatLine (in Dutch). CBS. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  3. ↑ "Postcodetool for 3861AK". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  4. ↑ "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 1 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ "Klimaatatlas". knmi.nl. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  7. ↑ "Extremen KNMI-station Soesterberg (until 2008 - after 2008, extremes have been recorded at nearby De Bilt weather station)". weergegevens.nl. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
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