Dronten - Misplaced Pages

Municipality in Flevoland, Netherlands

Dronten
Municipality
Dronten bell tower
FlagCoat of arms
Location in Flevoland
Coordinates: 52°31′N 5°43′E / 52.517°N 5.717°E / 52.517; 5.717
Country	Netherlands
Province	Flevoland
Established	1 January 1972
Government
• Body	Municipal council
• Mayor	Jean Paul Gebben (VVD)
Area
• Total	423.89 km (163.66 sq mi)
• Land	333.57 km (128.79 sq mi)
• Water	90.32 km (34.87 sq mi)
Elevation	−2 m (−7 ft)
Population
• Total	42,011
• Density	126/km (330/sq mi)
Demonym	Drontenaar
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode	8250–8259
Area code	0321
Website	www.dronten.nl

Dronten (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈdrɔntə(n)] ) is a municipality and a town in the central Netherlands, in the province of Flevoland. It had a population of 42,011 in 2021.

History

Plans for the municipality of Dronten were made in the early half of the 1950s; real plans for the town of Dronten (the municipality's center) were revealed in 1958.

The foundations for the town were laid in 1960. Right from the start there was a discussion whether Dronten was to become a town or a city. The first plans assumed 15,000 inhabitants, while later plans foresaw a growth to 30,000 inhabitants. The first plans for the municipality assumed ten smaller villages situated around the central town (in this case, Dronten). The number of villages was reduced because of increased motorized traffic and experiences gained in developing the Noordoostpolder, where a similar municipality had already been built. Eventually, it was decided that there were to be two smaller villages (Biddinghuizen and Swifterbant) and one larger town (Dronten).

On 1 January 1972, Dronten was given its official name.

In 1995, Dronten hosted in Biddinghuizen the 18th World Scout Jamboree. 28,960 Scouts and staff members from 166 countries and territories participated this event.

Population centers

Biddinghuizen
Dronten
Swifterbant
Ketelhaven

Topography

Dutch Topographic map of Dronten (town), March 2014.

Transportation

Dronten has a railway station on the Lelystad-Zwolle railway.

The majority of velomobile manufacturers in the world are based in Dronten. They include Alligt, velomobiel.nl and InterCityBike.

Entertainment

Biddinghuizen contains the theme park Walibi Holland.

Sister city relations

Ōgata, Akita, Japan (friendship city)

Notable people

Patrick Paauwe (born 1977), Dutch former professional footballer with 451 caps
Cees Paauwe (born 1975), Dutch former football goalkeeper with over 100 caps
Bertolf Lentink (born 1980), Dutch singer/songwriter who plays guitar and piano
Ricardo Talu (born 1993), Dutch-Angolan professional footballer
Hakim Ziyech (born 1993), Dutch-Moroccan professional footballer, currently playing for Galatasaray
Beitske Visser (born 1995), Dutch female racing driver

References

"Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2020" [Key figures for neighbourhoods 2020]. StatLine (in Dutch). CBS. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
"Postcodetool for 8251ER". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
"Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 1 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
"International Exchange". List of Affiliation Partners within Prefectures. Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR). Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.