Moerdijk

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For other uses, see Moerdijk (disambiguation).
Moerdijk
Municipality
Flag of Moerdijk
Flag		Coat of arms of Moerdijk
Coat of arms
Coordinates: 51°42′N 04°38′E / 51.700°N 4.633°E / 51.700; 4.633Coordinates: 51°42′N 04°38′E / 51.700°N 4.633°E / 51.700; 4.633
Country Netherlands
Province North Brabant
Area(2006)
 • Total 183.99 km2 (71.04 sq mi)
 • Land 159.10 km2 (61.43 sq mi)
 • Water 24.89 km2 (9.61 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2007)
 • Total 36,649
 • Density 230/km2 (600/sq mi)
  Source: CBS, Statline.
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)

Moerdijk ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a municipality and a town in the South of the Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant.

History

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.

Population centres

The village of Moerdijk

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. This was the last bridge available for the retreat from the vital Scheldt Estuary of the rapidly collapsing German defences near Antwerp in World War II. (Noteworthy as well, the Moerdijk bridges were one of the first targets of guided, or "smart bombs"- by American heavy bombers in late 1944.)

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

Zevenbergen is the largest town of the municipality (population as of 2002: 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.

Transport

Railway Dordrecht to Roosendaal (part of line 11), with stations and official station abbreviations:

See also

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Moerdijk.
Cromstrijen (ZH), Strijen (ZH)
Hollands Diep		 Dordrecht (ZH)
Hollands Diep
Goeree-Overflakkee (ZE) / Volkerak Drimmelen
   Moerdijk  
Steenbergen Halderberge, Etten-Leur Breda
   Municipalities of North Brabant
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