| Moerdijk | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — Municipality — | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Netherlands | ||
| Province | North Brabant | ||
| Area(2006) | |||
| • Total | 183.99 km2 (71 sq mi) | ||
| • Land | 159.10 km2 (61.4 sq mi) | ||
| • Water | 24.89 km2 (9.6 sq mi) | ||
| Population (1 January 2007) | |||
| • Total | 36,649 | ||
| • Density | 230/km2 (595.7/sq mi) | ||
| Source: CBS, Statline. | |||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
Moerdijk () is a municipality and a town in the South of the Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant.
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The municipality of Moerdijk was founded in 1997 following the merger of the municipalities of Fijnaart en Heijningen, Klundert, Standdaarbuiten, Willemstad and Zevenbergen. At that time the new municipality was called Zevenbergen. The name changed to Moerdijk in 1998.
The village of Moerdijk is one of the smaller villages of the municipality. Population as of 2002 is 1,205. Moerdijk is however a well-known name in the Netherlands, because of the large Moerdijk industrial area, with a large power plant, and because of the well-known Moerdijk bridges (highway and railway bridges) across the Hollands Diep.
Moerdijk made headlines on January 5, 2011, because of a large fire at Chemie-Pack (a firm processing numerous chemicals) causing a large cloud of toxic smoke to blow over the surrounding area, mostly to the north of Moerdijk.
Above the Moerdijk (meaning "north of Moerdijk") is used as an expression in Belgium and the southern parts of the Netherlands to mean "in the Netherlands" or "in Holland".
Below the Moerdijk (meaning "south of Moerdijk" or "below the major rivers") is also a Dutch expression for the Catholic provinces North Brabant and Limburg". This expression is used particularly around Mardi Gras in relation to the region's traditional carnival culture, which (with a few local exceptions) does not exist north of the major rivers.
Zevenbergen is the largest town of the municipality (population as of 2002[update]: 14,006). It is located about 10 km northwest of Breda. It received city rights in 1427.
Zevenbergen has a railway station with connections to Dordrecht and Roosendaal.
Railway Dordrecht to Roosendaal (part of line 11), with stations and official station abbreviations: