Molenwaard

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Molenwaard
Municipality
Kinderdijk wind mills
Kinderdijk wind mills
Flag of Molenwaard
Flag
Coat of arms of Molenwaard
Coat of arms
Highlighted position of Molenwaard in a municipal map of South Holland
Location in South Holland
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Country Netherlands
Province South Holland
Established 1 January 2013[1]
Government[2]
 • Body Municipal council
 • Mayor Dirk van der Borg (CDA)
Area[3]
 • Total 126.47 km2 (48.83 sq mi)
 • Land 118.29 km2 (45.67 sq mi)
 • Water 8.18 km2 (3.16 sq mi)
Elevation[4] −1 m (−3 ft)
Population (May 2014)[5]
 • Total 28,986
 • Density 245/km2 (630/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postcode 2957–2977
Area code 0184
Website www.gemeentemolenwaard.nl
View of Brandwijk
Windmills near Kinderdijk
Polder and cycling-bridge near Streefkerk

Molenwaard [6] is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the southeastern part of the province of South Holland, and the northwestern part of the region of Alblasserwaard. It has been the result of a merger of the municipalities of Graafstroom, Liesveld, and Nieuw-Lekkerland on 1 January 2013. Molenwaard has about 29,000 inhabitants and an area of about 126 km2 (49 sq mi). Biggest places are Bleskensgraaf, Groot-Ammers, and Nieuw-Lekkerland.

The municipality of Molenwaard lies about 1.5 m below sea level. It is bordered by the Lek river in the north and the Noord river in the west (just a small part). On its area flows the Graafstroom or Alblas river.

Molenwaard can be characterized as a landscape of polders existing of vast pastures traversed by ditches and canals, like the Groote- of Achterwaterschap, and the Ammersche Boezem. In the outermost northwest one can find the famous windmills of Kinderdijk.

From a churchly point of view the municipality belongs to the so-called Bible Belt, with as outcome the dominating of the Christian parties in politics.

Localities

Molenwaard consists of the following settlements:

Topography

Gem-Molenwaard-OpenTopo.jpg

Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Molenwaard, June 2015

Politics

The municipal council of Molenwaard consists of 21 seats, which are divided as follows:

Municipal council seats
Party 2013
Reformed Political Party (SGP) 5
Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) 5
ChristianUnion (CU) 4
Labour Party (PvdA) 3
Gemeentebelangen Molenwaard 2
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) 2
Total 21

References

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  6. Molenwaard is derived from 'molen' (mill) and 'waard' (flat riverland). The flat municipality of Molenwaard consists of a lot of windmills.

External links