Hoogeveen, Provincie Drenthe, Netherlands

🇳🇱 Hoogeveen is a municipality and a town in the north-eastern Netherlands. Population centres are: Elim, Fluitenberg, Hoogeveen and Noordscheschut, which still have the canals which used to be throughout the town. Other villages of the town are Hollandscheveld, Nieuw Moscou, Nieuweroord, Nieuwlande, Pesse, Stuifzand and Tiendeveen.

Hoogeveen dates its history to 20 December 1625, when Roelof van Echten bought a large tract of peat land from farmers of the district with the plan to harvest its peat. One old map of the area called it Locus Deserta Atque ob Multos Paludes Invia, a deserted and impenetrable place of many swamps. Hoogeveen itself was established in 1636 by Peter Joostens Warmont and Johan van der Meer.

Its coat of arms, granted 10 November 1819, is white, with a pile of peat covered in straw in the centre and beehives on each side, representing the town's first two major industries.

Vincent van Gogh visited the area in the fall of 1883.

In the second half of the 1960s, Hoogeveen was the fastest growing town in the Netherlands. Its rapid growth during that period led its city council to fill in most of the town's canals, canals dug in the area's early days when it was a prime source of peat.

Access to the town is provided by the A28 (Utrecht - Groningen) highway, the N/A37 (Hoogeveen - Germany), and the Western Cities - Groningen railway.

Hoogeveen also has a small airport that attracts some tourism. Since 1997 the Hoogeveen Chess Tournament has been organised here.

Transport Railway Station: Hoogeveen