Holten

Holten
Church
Flag Coat of arms
Holten Location in Overijssel
Coordinates: 52°16′53″N 6°25′07″E / 52.28139°N 6.41861°E / 52.28139; 6.41861Coordinates: 52°16′53″N 6°25′07″E / 52.28139°N 6.41861°E / 52.28139; 6.41861
Country	Netherlands
Province	Overijssel
Municipality	Rijssen-Holten
Population (1 January 2009)	8,740
Website	www.rijssen-holten.nl

Holten (Dutch Low Saxon: Hooltn) is a small village in the municipality of Rijssen-Holten in the Dutch province of Overijssel, with approximately 10,000 inhabitants. Holten is located in a forested area just south of the Holterberg, a 65-metre (210 ft) hill, and is part of the "Sallandse Heuvelrug" National Park. The National Park is the only area in the Netherlands in which the black grouse (in Dutch: korhoen) can be found. This grouse population is on the brink of extinction, so parts of the National Park are closed to the public during its breeding season.

Holten Canadian War Cemetery

Holten Canadian War Cemetery^[1] is the second-largest World War II cemetery in the Netherlands and is administered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It is located in a forested area 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) north-east of Holten railroad station, and is accessible by car or bicycle via a number of sand roads. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited the cemetery on May 4, 2015, in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.^[2]

• 
  Canadian troops move through Holten, April 1945
• 
  Canadian cemetery in Holterberg

Economy

The scenic location of Holten has stimulated considerable tourism in the village, which is served by a number of hotels and camp sites. During the summer, the number of tourists exceeds the number of locals.

Transport

Holten has a railway station on the Deventer-Almelo railway line (Holten railway station), which is served twice per hour.

Notable residents

Holten is the home village of Olympic 1500m speed skating gold medalist Mark Tuitert, jazz trombonist Wolter Wierbos, and film and documentary director and Academy Award winner Bert Haanstra.

Dialect

As well as Standard Dutch, local inhabitants speak a variety of Dutch Low Saxon, which is considered to be part of the Sallaands sub-dialect, with a few Tweants traits that are a natural result of the village's proximity to Twente. While in surrounding communities the use of dialect is relatively widespread, Holten has seen a decline over the past few decades.

Notable Residents

• Bert Haanstra, (31 May 1916 – 23 October 1997), film and documentary director

References

External links

• J. Kuyper, Gemeente Atlas van Nederland, 1865-1870, "Holten". Map of the former municipality, around 1868.