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 center and beehives on each side, representing the town's first two major industries.
In the second half of the 1960s, Hoogeveen was the fastest growing town in the Netherlands. Until that period, the town contained a number of canals, which had been dug in the area's early days when it was a prime source of peat and maritime transportation was a necessity for efficient transportation of cargo. By the 1960s the rise of the automobile and truck-based transportation meant the canals had lost much of their economic function, and the canals were filled in.
The first important transportation connection was provided by the railway line, with Hoogeveen railway station opening in 1870. Since the early 1970s, access to the town has been provided by the A28 (Utrecht - Groningen) highway, and in the early 2000s, the A37 (Hoogeveen - Germany) highway was expanded from a provincial road to improve the region's connection to Emmen and further to Germany.
The then recognized oldest person in the world, Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper, lived in Hoogeveen until her death in August 2005, two months after her 115th birthday.
Hoogeveen also has a small airport that attracts some tourism. Since 1997 the Hoogeveen Chess Tournament has been organized here.
Vivianne Miedema (born 1996 in Hoogeveen) a Dutch professional footballer who is the Netherlands all-time top scorer, across both the women's and men's teams. She is also the all-time top scorer in the English FA Women's Super League.
Jens Dekker (born 1998 in Hoogeveen) a Dutch professional road racing cyclist
Nande Wielink (born 1998 in Hoogeveen) a Dutch footballer
Culture
Anne van Amstel (born 1974 in Hoogeveen) Dutch writer, psychologist and poet
Jill de Jong (born 1982 in Hoogeveen) a Dutch model and actress[6]
Huts in Zwartschaap, on the way between Hoogeveen and Pesse, painted by Van Gogh in 1883
Town hall
Nieuwebrugsluis in Hoogeveen
Villapark, Martensplek
References
Footnotes
^"De leden van het college" [Members of the board of mayor and aldermen] (in Dutch). Gemeente Hoogeveen. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
^"Postcodetool for 7901BW". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
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