Thorn, Netherlands

( Listen? / I ) Thorn ( Limburg Toear ) is a city in the Netherlands and was until December 31, 2006 an independent municipality in the province of Limburg. With effect from 1 January 2007, Thorn graduated with Heel and Maasbracht together for the newly founded community Maasgouw.

The former small-town than twelve kilometers southwest of Roermond, near the Maas and the Maasplassen on the border between North and Central Limburg. Because of the numerous white-washed houses is called Thorn also " the white city " ( in Dutch: "Het witte stadje ").

History

The place Thorn emerged from a donated to 975 Benedictine abbey. Throughout most of the 12th century, the abbey was transformed into a free- secular convent that later imperial pen to Thorn. In the convent only unmarried women of the nobility could enter, wanting to get married Dames lived outside the monastery walls in some of their own homes.

The already built about 992 Romanesque abbey church was extensively remodeled in the Gothic period and received during the Baroque an exuberant baroque interior. Until the 17th century, many canonesses were built outside of the actual monastery district own houses, which are still preserved to a large extent today. The old city is paved with pebbles from the river Meuse, ostensibly so that the precious skirts canonesses were not unnecessarily exposed to road dirt. The noble ladies of Thorn made ​​to a prosperous town and was over 800 years the center of a principality ruled by the abbesses. The "Land of Thorn " temporarily coined its own money.

1794 French troops marched on, confiscated the pen and so ended the centuries-long female collegiate rule. Introduced by the French window tax, being determined according to the size of the window, the Thorner forced to Umau their homes. They used the stones of the old abbey, the monastery buildings were laid down in 1800. To cover the different sizes of the stones that Thorner whitewashed the walls of their houses with white lime. This contributed Thorn called " The White City " field.

Even today, most of the houses are white. In the Old Town Thorns, a tourist attraction, 105 properties have been given the status of a Rijksmonuments awarded another two are located outside the actual center.

From 2002 to 2004, a sand sculpture festival took place in Torun in summer.

Personalities

In Thorn born in or closely associated with the city include the following persons:

  • Anna Salome von Manderscheid - Blankenheim, abbess of the kingdom pin
  • Clara Elisabeth von Manderscheid - Blankenheim, Stiftsdame
  • Franziska Christine von Pfalz- Sulzbach, abbess of the kingdom pin
  • Gwendolyn Maria of Saxony, Abbess of the Imperial pin
  • Pierre Kuijpers, conductor and oboist

Gallery

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