View source for Moerdijk

{{for|the village within this municipality, with the same name| Moerdijk (village)}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields and descriptions -->
<!-- Name and transliteration -->
| name                    = Moerdijk
| settlement_type         = [[List of municipalities of the Netherlands|Municipality]]
<!-- Images, nickname, motto -->
| image_skyline           = NL Moerdijk municipality Zevenbergen city IMG 2832.JPG
| image_alt               = 
| image_caption           = Aerial view over Moerdijk (Zevenbergen in centre)
| image_flag              = Flag of Moerdijk.svg
| flag_size               = 100x67px
| flag_alt                = 
| image_shield            = Moerdijk wapen.svg
| shield_size             = 100x80px
| shield_alt              = 
<!-- Maps, coordinates -->
| image_map               = Map - NL - Municipality code 1709 (2009).svg
| map_alt                 = Highlighted position of Moerdijk in a municipal map of North Brabant
| map_caption             = Location in North Brabant
| coordinates             = {{coord|51|39|N|4|36|E|region:NL|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_footnotes   = 
| subdivision_type        = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name        = [[Netherlands]]
| subdivision_type1       = [[Provinces of the Netherlands|Province]]
| subdivision_name1       = [[North Brabant]]
| government_footnotes    = <ref name="mayor_now">{{cite web 
 |url = http://www.moerdijk.nl/web/College-van-B-en-W/Portefeuilleverdeling-College.html
 |title = Portefeuilleverdeling College
 |trans-title=Task division board
 |language = nl
 |publisher = Gemeente Moerdijk
 |access-date = 30 May 2014}}</ref>
| governing_body          = [[Municipal council (Netherlands)|Municipal council]]
| leader_party            = [[Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie|VVD]]
| leader_title            = [[Burgemeester|Mayor]]
| leader_name             = {{ill|Aart-Jan Moerkerke|nl}}
<!-- Geographic information -->
| unit_pref               = Metric
<!-- ALL fields with measurements have automatic unit conversion -->
<!-- for references: use <ref> tags -->
| area_footnotes          = <ref>{{Dutch municipality total area|dataref}}</ref>
<!-- square kilometers -->
| area_total_km2          = {{Dutch municipality total area|Moerdijk}}
| area_land_km2           = {{Dutch municipality land area|Moerdijk}}
| area_water_km2          = {{Dutch municipality water area|Moerdijk}}
| elevation_footnotes     = <ref name="AHN">{{cite web 
 |url = http://www.ahn.nl/postcodetool
 |title = Postcodetool for 4761BJ
 |language = nl
 |author = <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> 
 |work = Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland
 |publisher = Het Waterschapshuis
 |access-date = 30 May 2014}}</ref>
| elevation_m             = 1
| elevation_max_footnotes = <!-- for references: use <ref> tags -->
| elevation_max_m         =
| elevation_min_footnotes = <!-- for references: use <ref> tags -->
| elevation_min_m         =
<!-- Population, demographics -->
| population_footnotes    = <ref>{{Dutch municipality population|dataref}}</ref>
| population_total        = {{Dutch municipality population|Moerdijk}}
| population_as_of        = {{MONTHNAME|{{Dutch municipality population|popbasemonth}}}} {{Dutch municipality population|popbaseyear}}
| population_density_km2  = {{Dutch municipality population density|Moerdijk}} <!-- For automatic calculation: auto-->
| population_demonym      = 
<!-- Other information -->
| timezone                = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset              = +1
| timezone_DST            = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset_DST          = +2
| postal_code_type        = [[Postal codes in the Netherlands|Postcode]]
| postal_code             = 4758–4797
| area_code_type          = [[Telephone numbers in the Netherlands|Area code]]
| area_code               = 0168
| website                 = {{URL|1=http://www.moerdijk.nl}}
| footnotes               =
}}

'''Moerdijk''' ({{IPA|nl|muːrˈdɛik|-|211 Moerdijk.ogg}}) is a [[Municipalities of the Netherlands|municipality]], that includes also a [[Moerdijk (village)|village with the same name]], in the province of [[North Brabant]], the [[Netherlands]].

== History ==
The municipality of Moerdijk was founded in 1997 following the merger of the municipalities of [[Fijnaart en Heijningen]], [[Klundert]], [[Standdaarbuiten]], [[Willemstad (North Brabant)|Willemstad]], and [[Zevenbergen]]. At that time the new municipality was called Zevenbergen. The name changed to Moerdijk on 1 April 1998.
* [[List of mayors of Moerdijk]]

== Population centres ==
{{columns-list|colwidth=15em|
*[[Fijnaart en Heijningen]]
*[[Klundert]]
* {{ill|Heijningen|nl}}
* {{ill|Helwijk|nl}}
* {{ill|Langeweg|nl}}
*[[Moerdijk, North Brabant|Moerdijk]]
*[[Noordhoek, Moerdijk|Noordhoek]]
*[[Standdaarbuiten]]
*[[Willemstad, North Brabant|Willemstad]]
*[[Zevenbergen]]
*{{ill|Zevenbergschen Hoek|nl}}
}}

===Topography===
[[File:Gem-Moerdijk-OpenTopo.jpg|450px]]

''Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Moerdijk, June 2015''

=== The village of Moerdijk ===
{{main| Moerdijk (village)}}
The village of Moerdijk is one of the smaller villages of the municipality. Population as of 2002 is 1,205. ''Moerdijk'' is however a well-known name in the Netherlands, because of the large Moerdijk industrial area, with a large power plant, and because of the well-known [[Moerdijk bridges]] (highway and railway bridges) across the [[Hollands Diep]]. This was the last bridge available for the retreat from the vital Scheldt Estuary of the rapidly collapsing German defences near Antwerp in World War II. (Noteworthy as well, the Moerdijk bridges were one of the first targets of guided, or "smart bombs"- by American heavy bombers in late 1944.) 

Moerdijk made headlines on 5 January 2011 because of a large fire at Chemie-Pack (a firm processing numerous chemicals) causing a large cloud of toxic smoke to blow over the surrounding area, mostly to the north of Moerdijk.

''Above the Moerdijk'' (meaning "north of Moerdijk") is used as an expression in [[Belgium]] and the southern parts of the Netherlands to mean "in the Netherlands" or "in Holland".

''Below the Moerdijk'' (meaning "south of Moerdijk" or "below the major rivers") is also a Dutch expression for the Catholic provinces North Brabant and Limburg. This expression is used particularly around Mardi Gras in relation to the region's traditional carnival culture, which  (with a few local exceptions) does not exist north of the major rivers.

''Over de Moerdijk'' (meaning "across the Moerdijk") is used by either party to mean the other one.

=== Zevenbergen ===
{{main|Zevenbergen}}
'''Zevenbergen''' is the largest town of the municipality (population {{As of|2002|lc=on}}: 14,006). It is located about 10&nbsp;km northwest of [[Breda (Netherlands)|Breda]]. It received [[City rights in the Netherlands|city rights]] in 1427.

Zevenbergen has a [[train station]] with connections to [[Dordrecht]] and [[Roosendaal]].

== Transport ==

{{Railway Dordrecht to Roosendaal}}

Close to Hollands Diep, the area is now used for industrial movements by water, with great inland access as well the access into the North Sea, transport company [[Van der Vlist]] have their own port located in the area, and many other transport companies have nearby offices.

== Notable people ==
[[File:Gulden Cabinet - Henry Berkmans p 415.jpg|140px|thumb|Henry Berkmans, 1662]]
[[File:Og3ne-1414438354.jpg|140px|thumb|Og3ne]]
* [[Emanuel Sweert]] (1552 in Zevenbergen – 1612) a Dutch painter and nurseryman
* [[François Vranck]] (ca. 1555 in Zevenbergen – 1617) a Dutch lawyer and statesman, helped found the [[Dutch Republic]]
* [[Hendrick Berckman]] (1629 in Klundert – 1679) a [[Dutch Golden Age]] painter
* [[Jaap Burger]] (1904 in Willemstad – 1986) a Dutch politician
* [[Leo Riemens]] (1910 in Zevenbergen – 1985) a Dutch musicologist and cultural journalist
* [[Fons van der Stee]] (1928 in Zevenbergen – 1999) a Dutch politician
* [[Ad Bax]] (born 1956 in Zevenbergen) a Dutch-American molecular biophysicist
* [[Frans Bauer]] (born 1973 in Roosendaal) a Dutch singer of ''[[levenslied]]''
* [[O'G3NE]] (formed 2007 in Fijnaart) a Dutch three-piece girl group

=== Sport ===
* [[Piet van der Horst]] (1903 in Klundert – 1983) a Dutch racing cyclist, silver medallist at the [[1928 Summer Olympics]]
* [[Nico van Gageldonk]] (1913 in Klundert – 1995) a Dutch cyclist, competed at the [[1936 Summer Olympics]]
* [[Angelique Seriese]] (born 1968 in Zevenbergen) a former Dutch judoka, gold medallist at the [[1988 Summer Olympics]]

== Gallery ==
<gallery mode=packed>
File:59. Vue de Willemsdorp, et du passage du Moerdyk pendant l'hiver.jpg|Vue de Willemsdorp, et du passage du Moerdyk
File:Verdediging van de schans of fort Noordam bij Zevenbergen in 1590 door het Staatse leger onder Matthijs Helt tegen het Spaanse leger onder graaf Karel van Mansfeld (Bartholomeus Willemsz. Dolendo).jpg|Defense of the Fort Noordam in 1590 against the Spanish army
File:Afbeelding Helwijk 1723.jpg|Landmeterskaart van de polder van West Heijningen, 1723
</gallery>

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
*{{Commons category-inline}}
* {{Official website|http://www.moerdijk.nl}}

{{Geographic location
 | Centre    = Moerdijk
 | North     = [[Hoeksche Waard (municipality)|Hoeksche Waard]] ([[South Holland|ZH]])<br>''[[Hollands Diep]]''
 | Northeast = [[Dordrecht]] ([[South Holland|ZH]])<br>''[[Hollands Diep]]''
 | East      = [[Drimmelen]]
 | Southeast = [[Breda]]
 | South     = [[Halderberge]], [[Etten-Leur]]
 | Southwest = [[Steenbergen]]
 | West      = [[Goeree-Overflakkee]] ([[South Holland|ZH]]) / ''[[Volkerak]]''
}}
{{Dutch municipality Moerdijk}}
{{North Brabant Province}}

{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Moerdijk| ]]
[[Category:Municipalities of North Brabant]]
[[Category:Populated places in North Brabant]]
[[Category:Municipalities of the Netherlands established in 1998]]

{{NorthBrabant-geo-stub}}