The Land of Heusden and Altena (Dutch: Land van Heusden en Altena) is a region located in the Dutch province of North Brabant. In 1904 it consisted of the historical regions Land van Altena and Land van Heusden (only the part above the Bergse Maas). Historically this region has been a part of North Brabant since 1815. During the Dutch Republic it belonged to Holland. It resembles comparable landscapes in the latter one, like e.g. the Alblasserwaard, which is situated just north of the region.
The Land van Heusden en Altena coincides with the municipality of Altena, except for the most western part, which belongs to De Biesbosch. Werkendam is the largest town, and Woudrichem the historical centre of the island. The former municipalities of Werkendam and Woudrichem formed the region of the Land van Altena, while the former municipality of Aalburg formed the region of the Land van Heusden.
Unlike most parts of North Brabant, the Land of Heusden and Altena has a strong Protestant (Calvinist) character. Former Prime Minister Hendrikus Colijn (1869–1944) had his roots in this region.
The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of 925 km.
North Brabant, also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the west, and the Flemish provinces of Antwerp and Limburg to the south. The northern border follows the Meuse westward to its mouth in the Hollands Diep strait, part of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. North Brabant had a population of about 2,626,000 as of January 2023. Major cities in North Brabant are Eindhoven, Tilburg, Breda, its provincial capital 's-Hertogenbosch, and Helmond
Aalburg is a former municipality in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. The municipality had been formed in 1973 by the merging of the former municipalities of Eethen, Veen, and Wijk en Aalburg. On January 1, 2019 it joined Werkendam and Woudrichem in the new municipality of Altena.
Werkendam is a town and a former municipality in southern Netherlands. The municipality, part of Land van Heusden en Altena, contained a large part of De Biesbosch area as it is located in the province of North Brabant. On 1 January 2019 it joined Woudrichem and Aalburg in the new municipality of Altena.
Woudrichem is a city and former municipality in the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands.
The Afgedamde Maas is a former distributary of the Maas River in the Dutch provinces of North Brabant and Gelderland. The Maas splits near Heusden with one channel flowing north until its confluence with the river Waal to form the Merwede, while the other channel continues west as the main distributary of the Maas.
The Bergsche Maas is a canal that was constructed in 1904 to be a branch of the river Maas in the Dutch province of North Brabant. The Maas splits near Heusden into the Afgedamde Maas and the Bergse Maas. The Afgedamde Maas flows north until its confluence with the river Waal to form the Merwede, while the Bergse Maas continues west as the main distributary of the Maas. Part of the Merwede rejoins the Bergse Maas to form the Hollands Diep estuary.
The Nieuwe Merwede is a Dutch canal, mainly fed by the river Rhine, that was constructed in 1870 to form a branch in the Rhine–Meuse delta. It was dug along the general trajectories of a number of minor Biesbosch creeks to reduce the risk of flooding by diverting the water away from the Beneden Merwede, and to facilitate navigation and regulate river traffic in the increasingly silted-up delta.
De Biesbosch National Park is one of the largest national parks in the Netherlands and one of the last extensive areas of freshwater tidal wetlands in Northwestern Europe. The Biesbosch consists of a large network of rivers and smaller and larger creeks with islands. The vegetation is mostly willow forests, although wet grasslands and fields of reed are common as well. The Biesbosch is an important wetland area for waterfowl and has a rich flora and fauna. It is especially important for migrating geese.
The Land of Altena is a historical region and former fiefdom of the Lords of Altena, historically part of the County of Holland, but since 1815 located in the Dutch province of North Brabant.
The Grote Waard or Hollandse Waard was a farming region in the County of Holland at the border of the Duchy of Brabant, that disappeared in the St. Elizabeth's flood. Parts of this polder are now separated by water: Hoekse Waard, Eiland van Dordrecht, De Biesbosch, and parts of North Brabant. The Grote Waard was a damp peat region, which was roughly limited by what now is the Afgedamde Maas between Heusden and Woudrichem, the Boven Merwede and Beneden Merwede, Dordrecht, Maasdam, the Keizersdijk between Maasdam and Strijen, Strijensas, Lage Zwaluwe, and Hooge Zwaluwe.
Sleeuwijk is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant and part of the municipality of Altena.
The Merwede is the name of several connected stretches of river in the Netherlands, between the cities of Woudrichem, Dordrecht and Papendrecht. The river is part of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and is mostly fed by the river Rhine.
Rijswijk is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Altena, about 5 km southeast of Gorinchem.
The Oude Maasje is a former distributary of the river Maas, which runs parallel to the current canalised Bergse Maas.
The Heusden Canal is a canal on the border of the Dutch provinces North Brabant and Gelderland, roughly between Wijk en Aalburg and Heusden. The canal connects the Afgedamde Maas and Bergse Maas and has a total length of approximately 2.3 km. The canal used to connect the city of Heusden to the main branch of the river Meuse. Later on, the original main branch was closed off and the river received a new, artificial mouth: the Bergse Maas. After that, the Heusden Canal was improved to maintain a shipping connection between the two Meuse branches.
Honswijk is a historic municipality in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It was located to the west of the city of Woudrichem, in the Land van Altena. Between 1812 and 1950 the territory was divided between as many as four municipalities, namely Almkerk, Rijswijk, De Werken en Sleeuwijk and Woudrichem. In the 21st century Honswijk belonged for most of its former area to Woudrichem, with a small section belonging to Werkendam. The territory consists of three polders, namely Ruigenhoek, P. Honswijk and Oudbroek, the latter also being a small hamlet. Honswijk has an estimated population of 35.
Altena is a municipality in the Netherlands, on a river island in the very north of the province of North Brabant, bordering the provinces of Gelderland and South Holland. Nearby cities are Dordrecht in the west, Gorinchem in the north, and Waalwijk in the south.
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