Gorredijk

Geschiedenis

Gorredijk is the biggest town in the municipality of Opsterland, in the Dutch province of Friesland. Gorredijk had a population of 7,369 in 2014.HistoryBefore the 1600s, the wide area surrounding modern-day Gorredijk was populated by communities contenting themselves with shepherding, beekeeping, haying and farming; producing buckwheat, oat, rye, peas, beans, flax and various herbs. Compared to the present day, keeping cattle was a relatively uncommon phenomenon. Like in much of southeast Friesland, the soil between Gorredijk and Jubbega consisted of raised bog, which was excavated for peat. Around the turn of the 17th century, the value of this fossil fuel lured businesspeople like Jonker Dekema and the so-called Gentlemen Associates, who made an "industry" out of selling the peat and ended up owning vast stretches of land—a good example being nearby Jonkersland. The year 1631 saw the completion of the, a 34km long canal from Gorredijk to Smilde, in the neighboring province of Drenthe, to facilitate the transport of peat out of the area by way of barge. Soon after, the first migrant workers' houses were being constructed along the canal and a Hooghout bridge was built across, signifying the beginning of peat colony de Gordyk.