Zuidlaren
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| The town centre (dark green) and the statistical district (light green) of Zuidlaren in the municipality of Tynaarlo. |
Zuidlaren (Drents: Zuudlaoren) is a village in the province of Drenthe in the Northern Netherlands, Europe. Zuidlaren has just over 10,000 inhabitants and is situated on natural heightened land which is called the Hondsrug.
The village is part of the new municipality of Tynaarlo. Formerly the village had its own municipality called Zuidlaren, but in 1998 Zuidlaren joined the municipality of Tynaarlo. Tynaarlo is the name of a much smaller village than Zuidlaren and is located between the 3 largest villages of the municipality: Eelde, Zuidlaren and Vries. The modern architecture town hall is located in Vries, which replaced the Laarwoud town hall in 2004.
[edit] Sights of interest
Zuidlaren enjoys great popularity of tourism, because of the varied cultural sights and attractions.
In the centre of the village are different important statues. The statue of a horse and two horsetraders has once been revealed by Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands during the Zuidlaardermarkt.
There is also the statue of Berend Botje, which refers to Lodewijk van Heiden (1773-1850), a Dutch seafarer. In Zuidlaren Berend Botje is better known as a song for children to be learned in kindergarten.
Another statue is located in front of the Prins Bernhardhoeve (PBH), which is a large exhibition complex. The statue makes reference to the fire that destroyed a big part of the PBH in 1986, the statue is called 'Vriendschap Vereeuwigd' ('Friendship Immortalized'). This name was invented by R.C. Zuidlaren-Anloo, the local Rotary club, because the payment of the statue was done by friends of another Rotary club from Achim, Germany.
The memorial of World War II is situated in front of the former town hall 'Laarwoud'. The annual commemoration of the inhabitants of Zuidlaren who died during World War II is always on the 4th of May, the day after is Liberation Day. But the commemoration is also for the sake of people who suffer from wars nowadays.
The windmill of Zuidlaren is called 'De Wachter', it is in the far east of the village. The mill is specialized in corn and oil and has its own bakery. Interested persons can come and make a visit, because it is a museum.
[edit] Village greens
Zuidlaren is known for the many characteristic village greens (Dutch: brinken) it counts.
Village greens in Zuidlaren are mostly small to sizeable grasslands with a lot of trees. The largest village green is in the centre of the village and is located next to a large square.
[edit] Events
The most important event of Zuidlaren is the Zuidlaardermarkt, it is an annual event with a large cattle market, a country market and a fair. Besides this annual market there also are other markets, like the weekly small country market on Fridays. But also the 'Oud-Drentsche Markt' which is in summer season on Wednesdays. Another large event is NIC Zuidlaren, an international horse riding competition.
The events in the village are often organized by the 'Zuidlaarder Ondernemers Vereniging' (ZOV). The ZOV is an organization of volunteers and is sponsored by entrepreneurs of Zuidlaren.
