Editing Amerongen

{{Short description|Town in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands}}
{{for|the surname|Amerongen (surname)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                    = Amerongen
| settlement_type         = [[Town]]
| other_name              = <!-- if different from name -->
| native_name             = <!-- if different from name -->
| native_name_lang        = nl
| image_skyline           = File:Amerongen voorgevel.JPG
| image_alt               =
| image_caption           = [[Amerongen Castle]]
| image_flag              = Amerongen vlag.svg
| image_shield            = Amerongen wapen.svg
| nickname                =
| motto                   =
<!--
| image_map               = Locatie Amerongen 2005.png
| map_caption             =
| image_map1              = 
| map_caption1            = 
-->
| pushpin_map             = Netherlands Utrecht#Netherlands
| pushpin_label_position  =
| pushpin_map_caption     = Location in the Netherlands
| subdivision_type        = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name        = [[Netherlands]]
| subdivision_type1       = [[Provinces of the Netherlands|Province]]
| subdivision_name1       = [[Utrecht (province)|Utrecht]]
| subdivision_type2       = [[Municipalities of the Netherlands|Municipality]]
| subdivision_name2       = [[Utrechtse Heuvelrug]]
| leader_title            =
| leader_name             =
| leader_party            =
| elevation_footnotes     = <ref name="AHN">{{cite web |url = http://www.ahn.nl/postcodetool |title = Postcodetool for 3958AA |language = nl |work = Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland |date = 24 July 2019 |publisher = Het Waterschapshuis |access-date = 27 March 2022 }}</ref>
| elevation_m             = 42
| elevation_min_m         =
| elevation_max_m         =
| area_footnotes          = <ref name="stat"/>
| area_total_km2          = 29.68
| established_title       =
| established_date        =
| population_footnotes    = <ref name="stat">{{cite web |url=https://www.cbs.nl/-/media/_excel/2021/48/kwb-2021.xls |title=Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2021 |website=Central Bureau of Statistics |access-date=27 March 2022}}</ref>
| population_total        = 6,985
| population_as_of        = 2021
| population_demonym      =
| population_note         =
| population_density_km2  = auto
| timezone                = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset              = +1
| timezone_DST            = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset_DST          = +2
| postal_code_type        = [[List of postal codes in the Netherlands|Postal code]]
| postal_code             = 3958<ref name="stat"/>
| area_code_type          = [[Telephone numbers in the Netherlands|Dialing code]]
| area_code               = 0343
| website                 =
| footnotes               =
| coordinates             = {{coord|52|0|9|N|5|27|39|E|region:NL|display=inline,title}}
}}

'''Amerongen''' ({{IPA|nl|ˈaːmərɔŋə(n)|-|nl-Amerongen.ogg}}) is a town in the [[Municipalities of the Netherlands|municipality]] of [[Utrechtse Heuvelrug]] in the [[Provinces of the Netherlands|province]] of [[Province of Utrecht|Utrecht]], [[Netherlands]], on the border of the [[Utrecht Hill Ridge]]. It lies about 7&nbsp;km (4.3 mi) southwest of [[Veenendaal]] (10.5&nbsp;km or 6.5 mi by road).

The landscape rises from the flat water meadows of the [[Nederrijn]] (Lower Rhine) to the Utrecht Hill Ridge ("Utrechtse Heuvelrug"). The highest point in the western Netherlands is located 2&nbsp;km east of the village. The Amerongense Berg (Amerongen Mountain) has a height of 69 metres above sea level.

== History ==
The history of Amerongen is closely related to that of [[Amerongen Castle]]. This castle was first established in 1286 as a wooden [[Keep|donjon]] but was rebuilt in stone. It was damaged or destroyed by fire and rebuilt several times during the following centuries. In 1672 the Netherlands were invaded by the French army and in early 1673, the castle was deliberately burned down as a punishment for non-payment of taxes levied by the French. Shortly afterwards the castle was rebuilt, under the capable supervision of Margaretha Turnor, wife of Van Reede, owner of the castle and special envoy to the court of Brandenburg at this time. The newly built and extended castle arose in the [[Dutch Baroque architecture|Dutch Classicist]] style. Although the grounds and gardens were remodelled at various times and the interior brought up to date by [[Pierre Cuypers]] in the early 20th century, it remains a prime example of this style. 

The former Emperor of Germany, [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Wilhelm II]], sought refuge in the Netherlands in November 1918 after the First World War. He lived in the castle  until May 1920, when he moved to nearby Doorn, where he spent the rest of his life. It was in the Castle of Amerongen that he signed the Act of Abdication.

Until January 1, 2006, Amerongen was a separate municipality, which covered the village of Amerongen itself, [[Overberg (Netherlands)|Overberg]], and the western part of the village of [[Elst (Utrecht)|Elst]]. Elst was transferred to the municipality of [[Rhenen]]; the largest part of the municipality has merged with four other municipalities to form the new municipality of [[Utrechtse Heuvelrug]].

In 2021, the village of Amerongen had 6.985 inhabitants.<ref>"Gemeente Utrechtse Heuvelrug", ''Inwoners te Amerongen'', Used on 01-12-2015 [http://www.heuvelrug.nl/inwoner].</ref> In 2001, the built-up area of the village was 1.21&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, and contained 2072 residences.<ref name="CBS">Statistics Netherlands (CBS), ''Bevolkingskernen in Nederland 2001'' {{cite web|url=http://www.cbs.nl/nl-NL/menu/themas/milieu-natuur-ruimte/ruimte/publicaties/cartografie-geografie/geografische-data/2001-bevolkingskernen-in-nederland.htm |title=CBS - Bevolkingskernen in Nederland 2001 |accessdate=2007-01-24 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060319070600/http://www.cbs.nl/nl-NL/menu/themas/milieu-natuur-ruimte/ruimte/publicaties/cartografie-geografie/geografische-data/2001-bevolkingskernen-in-nederland.htm |archivedate=2006-03-19 }}. Statistics are for the continuous built-up area.</ref>

"Amerongen", "Van Amerongen" and "Van Nieuw Amerongen" are surnames that indicate that their ancestors originated from this area.

==Economics==

Amerongen had a tobacco industry until the 19th century. The downfall of the tobacco industry was caused by the rise of [[cigar]] consumption, to which the tobacco from Amerongen was not suited. The foreign tobacco market also contributed to the downfall of the local tobacco industry. In 1879 the local Earl of Amerongen, Aldenburgh Bentinck, tried to revive the local economy by opening a cream factory in 1890. However, the factory had to close in 1912 and he then insisted the village on growing tulips. However, the domestic Dutch market proved too strong for the village and the production was stopped. In a last effort the Earl insisted on building hop-yards to grow hops, however this plan failed too. The majority of the villagers therefore became dependent on jobs in neighboring villages.<ref>http://utrechtseheuvelrug.punt.nl/content/2015/01/Bloembollenteelt--Amerongen on 01-12-2015(DD-MM-YYYY)</ref>

The factory of [[Technivorm]], the producer of the Moccamaster coffee machine, is situated in Amerongen.<ref>[https://www.moccamaster.nl/our-story http://www.moccamaster.nl/over_ons/ontwikkeling/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208081545/http://www.moccamaster.nl/over_ons/ontwikkeling/|date=8 December 2015}} on 01-12-2015</ref>

===Transportation===

The village of Amerongen is served by one bus line, namely line 50 to [[Utrecht Centraal|Utrecht]] and back to Veenendaal and Wageningen. The village was served by a tram from 9 November 1884 until 1949, which went from [[Zeist]] to [[Arnhem]].<ref>[[:nl:Tramlijn_Amersfoort_-_Arnhem#Openingsdata]] on 01-12-2015</ref>{{Circular reference|date=December 2015}} The tram itself was electrified in 1922, before it was electrified the tramline was used by [[Tram engine|steamtrams]]. The increase of the amount of [[autobus|autobusses]] contributed to the downfall of the tram in Amerongen, on which operations with the tram ceased in 1949. There are no tram tracks left in the village.

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:NIMH - 2011 - 0805 - Aerial photograph of Amerongen, The Netherlands - 1920 - 1940.jpg|Kasteel Amerongen, +/-1920-1940
File:Amerongen, de Andrieskerk RM7755 IMG 6547 2020-07-12 15.52.jpg|The [[Andrieskerk]].
File:Amerongen, korenmolen Maallust IMG 9190 2019-04-19 15.01.jpg|Amerongen, windmill: molen Maallust
File:Tussen Amerongen en Elst, het Amerongse bos IMG 6558 2020-07-12 16.12.jpg|Wood: Amerongse bos
</gallery>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Amerongen}}
* [http://www.heuvelrug.nl/ Official Site of the Utrechtse Heuvelrug]

{{Dutch municipality Utrechtse Heuvelrug}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2006]]
[[Category:Former municipalities of Utrecht (province)]]
[[Category:Populated places in Utrecht (province)]]
[[Category:Utrechtse Heuvelrug]]