Lichtenvoorde

Town in Gelderland, Netherlands

Flag

Coat of arms

51°59′17″N 6°34′11″E / 51.98806°N 6.56972°E / 51.98806; 6.56972CountryNetherlandsProvinceGelderlandMunicipalityOost GelreArea

^[1]

• Total11.49 km² (4.44 sq mi)Elevation

^[2]

21 m (69 ft)Population

(2021)^[1]

• Total12,910 • Density1,100/km² (2,900/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+1 (CET) • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)Postal code

7131 & 7132^[1]

Dialing code0544

Lichtenvoorde is a town in the east of the Netherlands, in the municipality of Oost Gelre.

Lichtenvoorde holds a flower parade (bloemencorso) every September at the start of its annual festival. The parade features floats covered in flowers (usually dahlias) in imaginative designs depicting a variety of themes.

Lichtenvoorde has a motorcross circuit on which international grands prix are held.

History

Lichtenvoorde was the name of a municipality that included the town and the villages of Lievelde, Zieuwent, Vragender and Harreveld, until 1 January 2005, when all were merged into the municipality of Oost Gelre.

Its inhabitants are known colloquially as keienslöppers (boulder draggers) due to a historic event. On 15 March 1874, 99 of the town's shoemakers dragged a 20 ton boulder a distance of around four kilometres to the marketplace to serve as a centerpiece for commemoration of King William III's silver jubilee, after 25 years on the country's throne. The boulder remains there to this day, topped by a stone lion holding the town's coat of arms.

Gallery

The boulder in the marketplace
Catholic church in Lichtenvoorde
Farm at the open-air museum Erve Kots in Lievelde
Catholic church in Zieuwent
Vragender Village
Windmill Hermien in Harreveld

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2021". Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
^ "Postcodetool for 7131AA". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Retrieved 13 April 2022.