Opijnen

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Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Script error: No such module "Settlement short description".Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters".Expression error: Unexpected < operator. Opijnen is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of West Betuwe, and lies about 10 km southwest of Tiel.

Opijnen was a separate municipality until 1818, when it changed its name to Est en Opijnen.[1]

History

It was first mentioned in 1265 as Opynen, and means upstream as compared to Neerijnen.[2] The village developed parallel to the Waal as a stretched out esdorp.[3] In 1265, Opijnen became the property of Raoul de Châtillon, a French nobleman who had fled to Gelre after a dispute with the King of France. A castle was built near the village, however it disappeared in the 16th century.[3] The Dutch Reformed Church was built in 1860 and the tower dates from 1925.[3] In 1840, Opijnen was home to 333 people.[4]

Opijnen is home to the graves of eight American airmen who were shot down on 30 July 1943, and killed while returning to England from a bombing raid over Kassel, Germany. The village honoured the airmen by burying them in their cemetery. From that time and for seventy-five years afterwards, the village honoured these men annually with a formal church service and then a laying of flowers on the graves. In 2006, the village opened a housing complex with eighty-six units. The airmen were further honoured by having the streets in that housing complex named after them.[5]

Gallery

References

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  1. Ad van der Meer and Onno Boonstra, Repertorium van Nederlandse gemeenten, KNAW, 2011.
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  5. Washington Post Magazine November 11, 2018

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