The village of Veenhuizen celebrates its 200th anniversary this year, with about fifty activities and events in the former colony.
Thursday 20 April is the official opening in the prison village with a performance by LAVALU & De Pauperband. In the autumn, a reunion for (former) residents and a village festival will follow. “We also want to do great things for residents,” say organizers Peter Scholten and Peter Bos.
The month of August will be dominated by Festival Veenhuizen and at the end of this year there will be a so-called Landlopers Day. “It’s just a small selection,” promise both organizers.
Scholten and Bos are still looking for financial backers to get more activities off the ground. “We hope to get everything done soon and are looking for sponsors and financiers. There will be programming until May 2024 and then we will of course continue to build on the future of Veenhuizen.”
Veenhuizen, together with the villages of Frederiksoord, Wilhelminaoord and the Flemish Wortel, is known for the Colonies of Benevolence. In the colonies, poor and hopeless city dwellers were given a house and some land and were retrained as farmers. Johannes van den Bosch was at the basis of this in 1818 with the foundation of agricultural colonies. The precision with which he worked, which resulted in dead straight avenues and characteristic buildings, can be seen in the colony villages. Since 2021, the Colonies of Benevolence. UNESCO World Heritage.
Veenhuizen is also known as a ‘prison village’ because of the National Prison Museum and the Esserheem and Norgerhaven locations, which were built in the last century.
“We are very surprised by the many initiatives and the involvement in the village,” says organizer Scholten. “The result is a grand program with numerous special initiatives and activities.”