Hoornaar

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Hoornaar is a small town in South Holland, Netherlands. It sits in the Alblasserwaard region, north of the Merwede river and south of the Lek. It belongs to the municipality of Molenlanden and is about 5 km north of Gorinchem.

In 2007, about 1,655 people lived in the town; the built-up area covers 0.24 km². The surrounding statistical area has around 1,580 inhabitants. The town lies by three small rivers: Kromme Giessen, Giessen, and Kleine Vaart.

The name Hoornaar comes from Hornedamme; a “Horne” means a bend in a river. The area has a long history, with glacial sand hills (donken). Notable events include a raid in 1481 and, in the 11th century, an attack by Gofried of Lotharingen that was stopped by Count Dirk III of Holland.

In the 19th century hemp fibers were used to make rope. Later, farming focused more on potatoes and beets; stockbreeding and cheese trade and export companies became important too.

Hoornaar was its own municipality from 1817 to 1986, when it joined Giessenlanden. The Giessenlanden town hall lies in Hoornaar. Today, Hoornaar is part of Molenlanden.