Area Description Hurwenen

Joyce Bakker

Evelien Riesmeijer

George Christofi

RDI1 Y1T2 Location

Hurwenen is a village in Gelderland and is part of the municipality of Maasdriel. Hurwenen is placed in the area Bommelerwaard together with Aalst, Alem, Ammerzoden, Bern, Brakel, Bruchem, Delwijnen, Gameren, Hedel, Heerewaarden, Hoenzadriel, Kerkdriel, Kerkwijk, Nederhemert-noord, Nederhemert-zuid, Nieuwaal, poederoijen, Rossem, Velddriel, Well, Zaltbommel en Zuilichem.

Hurwenen is a small village and is well-known for its nature: de Kil van Hurwenen. At wintertime this reserve is closed because geese are using it. Hurwenen has a windmill since 1875 and a villa named Huis te Hurwenen. The previous owner of that villa was also the owner of the brick factory that was closed in 1991.

Hurwenen is located at the border of the Waal, between the Waal and Hurwenen is the Huwenense dike, that keeps the water outside of the land. The dike is used a lot by cyclers who want to enjoy nature, but it can also be used by car.

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Water and soil

The Kil van Hurwenen is a nature reserve in the foreland of the river Waal at Hurwenen. The Kil van Hurwenen was created in 1639 when an old meander of the river Waal was separated by human intervention of the river. At high tides in the river the water flows in the surrounding area and this attracts many wildlife species in the area, especially birds since the floodplain and the sand creates a favorable forage site for many kinds of birds. In the winter the area is closed for hikers as there is a large amount of migratory birds alight. Usually during that period many bird watchers are going to the dike which is a good view point to the area. Around the floodplain the soil is manly constituted by vague calcareous polder soils and heavy sand and light clay. As you deepen into the village the main dominant soil is constituted by heavy sand and light clay. Because of the properties that those two kinds of soils possess, this medium is generally fertile, easy to work, moist and provides favorable conditions for roots formation.

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Infrastructure

Since most of the inhabitants of Hurwenen moved there because it is a convenient place to travel to work from, the infrastructure is very important to Hurwenen. Hurwenen is situated close to the A2 and it takes only 15 minutes to get to ‘s Hertogenbosch, and 25 minutes to get to Utrecht.

Hurwenen does not have its own train station, but the train station in Zaltbommel is only 4 minutes away. This enables the children to get to school quickly.

The river Waal is a ramification of the river Rhine, and is the most important waterway in the Netherlands. Hurwenen lies very close to the Waal, but it does not have a harbour. Therefore the utility of the Waal for Hurwenen is mere recreational.

Because of its great surroundings Hurwenen has many cycle- and walktours. At the tourist information in Kerkdriel many cycle- and walk tours are available.

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Land use

The center of Hurwenen is filled with houses. There are a lot of old farms that are now used as houses. But there are also some new build houses. In the center there is a soccer field, a village house that is used by the local musicians, theatre club etc. There are two churches but they are not used for services anymore. Outside of the center there are some farms, there is a farm with horses, there are some horticulture farms and at the border of Hurwenen there are some mushroom farms. In Hurwenen are a lot of fruit trees. Close to the dike is a little café, where you can have a drink or an ice-cream in summer.

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Transect diagram:

Waal dike Kil van Hurwenen farms village farms

Soil. calcareous polder heavy sand and light clay Soils and heavy sand and light clay

use. Kil van Hurwenen housing farms (vegetables, flowers and mushroom)

Houses. none farms new houses farms Old houses Farm houses

Crops. Tree nurseries, flowers vegetables and fruit trees

Animals. Birds, (waterfowls and pets cows, meadow birds Fish, cows) horses sheep, goat

Qualities. Nature reserve, nice living Tourists

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Stakeholders

Hurwenen has about 850 inhabitants, of which (in January 2010) 431 men and 411 women. Most facilities such as the supermarket, the primary school, doctor etc. are in a village nearby; Rossum. Hurwenen had its own primary school until about 12 years ago. It was called the Uilennest and it had to close down. There are 2 churches in Hurwenen, a catholic church and a protestant church. The Catholic Church is private property and in the protestant church there hasn’t been services since 2 years now. The interior is on the heritage list.

Most of the inhabitants of Hurwenen are not “real Hurners”. There are only a few real Hurners left and they are mostly elderly people. The people that live in Hurwenen now are mostly families with children. They moved there because they wanted to leave the cities, or because it was a convenient place to travel to work from. It is close to the A2 and it takes only 15 minutes to get to ‘s Hertogenbosch, and 25 minutes to get to Utrecht. Most of the people have jobs in the cities, but like the idea of their children growing up in a village. There is a townhouse for the locals where many inhabitants go to. It is a cheap solution for clubs to be able to do their thing. Musicians rehearse there, there is theatre, theatre for children and many other clubs. The biggest club using the townhouse is the Oranjevereniging. It’s a club doing all sorts of things from Bingo’s to organizing activities on Queens’s day. There are also different meetings in the townhouse where the inhabitants can go to. Just recently there was a meeting from the “Dienst Landelijk Gebied” (or Service Rural Areas) where the inhabitant could go to hear a lecture about water. Hurwenen also has a soccer club; VV Hurwenen, and there is a big ice skating club, IJsclub Hurwenen Vooruit. There is a lake near the mill where many people go ice skating as soon as they have the opportunity. Together with Rossum Hurwenen has a club for catholic women. They do all kinds of things together. We noticed that associations and clubs are very important in Hurwenen.

Most of the older kids go to the secondary school in Zaltbommel. After finishing it, the older kids usually leave the village. The older kids go partying in Zaltbommel or ‘s Hertogenbosch. Travelling there is easy for them, since the station of Zaltbommel is only 4 minutes away from Hurwenen.

Because of its great surroundings Hurwenen has many cycle- and walktourists. There is one café where they and the inhabitants got to; De Roskam. At the tourist information in Kerkdriel you can find many cycle- and walktours. Hurwenen does have a couple of Bed & Breakfasts, but there is no camping.

Hurwenen has no housing organization and no police. There is a Consultative Welfare Elderly Rossum & Hurwenen.

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Historical features.

1764. The dike between Rossum and Hurwenen broke.

1843. The brick factory was opened.

1861. the village Hurwenen was completely filled with water.

1924. Hurwenen could now use the railway system of the Netherlands.

1991. The brick factory was closed.

1995. The year that everybody had to leaf Hurwenen because the dike could break again.

2009. The reformed church is closed.

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Spacial quality matrix:

Interests Economic Interest Social interest Ecological / Cultural Interest Environmental

Interest

Values

Practical Value Well accessible by Very well Geese use nature Options are highway. approachable. reserve in winter. limited, so there is not much Very efficient Children can easily During summer choice. infrastructure. travel to school and tourists enjoy it. cities. Many cycleroutes. On the Waal cargo. Perception Very attractive for Very attractive for Very calm and Huge cultural walkers & cyclers. walkers & cyclers. attractive inheritance. surroundings. Many monuments. Many monuments. Many Nature reserve. Nature reserve. Highway is close but monuments. there is no noise. Future Stable because As long as it Nature reserve De Kil Monuments are perspective good remains attractive under protection of on heritage list so infrastructure. people probably Staatsbosbeheer, so very likely to be still want to live unlikely to disappear. retained. Non profitable, here and tourists because people will keep coming. work in cities nearby.

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Challenges

Just like most villages in the Netherlands, Hurwenen faces a decreasing livability due to the closure of several facilities. Over the past few years Hurwenen has lost its own primary school, supermarket, doctor and two churches. Therefore, the livability of Hurwenen is directly linked to the quality of its infrastructure. As mentioned before, the infrastructure around Hurwenen is very good. This is the main reason why the new inhabitants moved here in the first place. Because of the fact that most inhabitants moved here only a little while ago, the closure of most of the facilities is not seen as a big problem. After all, inhabitants knew this before moving here and accepted it as an irreversible fact. Only the lack of a doctor’s post seems to be seen as a problem. Because most of the inhabitants are families with children or the elderly “real Hurners”, it is not a very comforting idea that when something happens or somebody gets ill, the first doctor is at least 5 kilometers away. Because of this we can conclude that a doctor’s post or an inhabitant with a first aid diploma could contribute to a general feeling of safety and therefore increase the livability of Hurwenen in the future.

At the moment, many houses in Hurwenen are for sale. This seemed to be something to worry about, but during our interviews with the inhabitants we found out that it is not a reason to worry. The interviewees explained that the people that used to live in these houses did not leave Hurwenen, but bought bigger houses in the village. Another reason we heard was that people got divorced and had to move to smaller houses. So the number of houses for sale does not seem to be an indication for a decreasing livability.

We noticed that Hurwenen is a very attractive place for tourists. Not only because of the floodplains, but also because of its cycle- and walking tours, its monuments and its nature reserve De Kil. It seems to be too bad that Hurwenen is not making any money out of these special features. This does not need to be a very big problem because all the inhabitants generate their income in the bigger cities nearby, but it certainly is a missed change. The only money the tourists leave in Hurwenen is the money they pay for their ice creams and coffee in the café “de Roskam” and an occasional stay at the Bed & Breakfast that is situated in Hurwenen.

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Address list

•Manager townhouse: Luuk Schmits Wielewaallaan 7 5327 AN Hurwenen [email protected]

•Ijsclub Hurwenen Vooruit

Secr: H.M. Biesters Waaldijk 81 5327 AB Hurwenen tel. 0418 - 662433.

•Overlegorgaan Welzijn Ouderen Rossum en Hurwenen (SWO Rossum)

Postadres: Koningstraat 45a 5328 BC Rossum Gld Telefoon: 0418-662854 ((voorzitter)) E-mail: [email protected]

•Voetbalvereniging Hurwenen Groenestraat 41 5327AD Hurwenen Tel: 0418 66 2108 Correspondentie adres: C.W. den Teuling Groenestraat 50 5327 AE Hurwenen

•Dick Hollander (auteur “Hurwenen in de waalstroom van de geschiedenis”) Meiweg 4 5327 KS Hurwenen 0418 516068

•Restaurant de Roskam Waaldijk 2 5327 AC Hurwenen tel: 041 866 122 6 fax: 041 866 254

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•B&B Dijkzicht [email protected] waaldijk 105 5327KP Hurwenen 0418-662474

Relevant websites http://www.bommelerwaardgids.nl/hurwenen/hurwenen.html www.oranjevereniging-hurwenen.nl www.vvhurwenen.nl http://www.dorpshuisdekil.nl/start.shtml

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