Putten (gemeente)

Geschiedenis

Putten is a municipality and a town in Gelderland province in the middle of the Netherlands. It had a population of in. It is located in the coastal area of the old Zuiderzee (Southern Sea). To the east of Putten lies the Veluwe, the biggest national park of the Netherlands. To the north, east and west, Putten is surrounded by farmlands.HistoryUntil World War IIThe oldest official paper in which Putten is mentioned dates back to 855. Small settlements, however, were already in existence during the Roman era. After the founding of the present main church in the 10th century, the community became the center of several smaller settlements. Parts of Nijkerk and Voorthuizen also became part of the Putten area, until in 1530 Nijkerk, and later also Voorthuizen, became independent communities.Until 1356, when a dyke was built, the coastline changed frequently, overflowing agricultural land in the west of Putten. The water was still a threat however, and the dyke broke through several times. The last major flood was in 1916, when large parts of Putten were flooded. After the Afsluitdijk was built in the north of the Netherlands, the Zuiderzee became a lake (1927-1933) and no longer posed a threat.Agriculture has always been a major source of income in Putten. The manufacturing of paper was also important in the 17th to 19th centuries. From the end of the 19th century tourism emerged, helped by the arrival of the railway in 1863. This made it easier for people from other towns to holiday in the boarding houses that Putten had built. Among those people from elsewhere were also patients who suffered from tuberculosis and similar diseases. They benefited from the sunlight and clean air and recuperated in several sanatoria.