Krimpen aan den IJssel

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Krimpen aan den IJssel

Flag

Coat of arms

Coordinates: 51.92° N 4.60° E

Country

Netherlands

Province

South Holland

Area (2006)

- Municipality

8.93 km² (3.4 sq mi)

- Land

7.83 km² (3 sq mi)

- Water

1.10 km² (0.4 sq mi)

Population (1 January 2007)

- Municipality

28,757

- Density

3,673/km² (9,513/sq mi)

Source: CBS, Statline.

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

- Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

Website: www.krimpenaandenijssel.nl

Krimpen aan den IJssel in 1867.

Krimpen aan den IJssel (population: 28.800 in 2006) is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 8.93 km² (3.45 mile²) of which 1.10 km² (0.42 mile²) is water.

[edit] History

Krimpen is first mentioned in a document from 1277. Like other hamlets, many different spellings of its name have occured over time, among which the name Tingenijssel deviated the most from today's spelling. The municipality is on the south shore of the river IJssel. For many centuries, the only buildings in Krimpen were farm houses built along the river dike. They formed more or less autonomous communities along the dike.

Before the 20th century, the 2 principal industrial employers were the brick factory Mijnlieff and the shipyard Van der Giessen de Noord.

In the beginning of the 20th century development began inland from the river dikes, and the municipality began to loose its agricultural character.

During the North Sea flood of 1953, the tidal barrier in the river IJssel proved to be inadequate. So in 1954 construction started on a new storm surge barrier, the first installation of the Delta Works. In 1958 it was completed together with the Algera Bridge which connects Krimpen with Capelle aan den IJssel.

Midway the 1960s, Krimpen became a commuter town for people working in Rotterdam, resulting in major expansion. Today most of the municipality has been built up, except for the Krimpenerwaard where the town council aims to retain the rural character.