“When village halls came into existence, education was very important,” explains Paul van Schie. He is an advisor for the BOKD, an interest group that promotes village halls and the quality of life in villages in Drenthe. After the Second World War, the number of village and community centers also grew in the rest of the country and the focus of the village centers shifted from education to leisure activities.
This changed the role of the village hall. “At that time, club life emerged, for example the card clubs and the theater clubs in the village hall. The village hall continues to play this role to this day.”
Many village halls are now run by volunteer organisations. “People from the village have to do it themselves and that is quite demanding,” Van Schie explains. “You have to find a group of people who are willing to put their shoulders to the wheel. That is no small feat, because you actually have a household.”
In 2025, Drenthe still has 160 village halls, community centers and multifunctional centers. In Eelde-Paterswolde, despite all the changes of the past 110 years, the village hall still occupies a central place in the village. What is our secret?” says Richard Zonneveld, manager of Ons Dorpshuis in Paterswolde. “It is the community that lives here. It is not without reason that the place is called ‘Our Village Hall’,” he laughs. “We are a close-knit village and we organize a lot together.” The rooms where sewing and cooking courses were once organized now house around 70 associations.
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