Stichtse Vecht is a municipality of the Netherlands and lies in the northwestern part of the province of Utrecht.
The municipality has about 63,000 inhabitants and covers an area of about 107 km2 (41 sq mi).
Stichtse Vecht was formed on 1 January 2011 by a merger of the municipalities of Breukelen (in the west), Maarssen (in the east) and Loenen (in the north). Herindelingsprocedure Vecht- en Plassengebied (municipal reorganization), Province of Utrecht website
Geography Stichtse Vecht is situated north of the city of Utrecht, in an area called the Vechtstreek. It is near sea level and is mostly rural with many pastures.
Within its boundaries are the Maarsseveense Plassen, which are recreational lakes. Northeast it borders the Loosdrechtse Plassen, also recreational lakes, which lie in neighbouring municipality of Wijdemeren.
The Amsterdam–Rhine Canal and the river Vecht cross the municipality from south to north.
Topography
Map of Stichtse Vecht, June 2015
History The municipality contains several country estates (buitenplaatsen) and castles, like Nijenrode Castle, Slot Zuylen and Huis te Mijnden.
Transportation The A2 motorway crosses the municipality from south to north.
There are two railway stations: Breukelen railway station Maarssen railway station
Population centers
Former municipality of Breukelen: Breukelen Gieltjesdorp Kockengen Kortrijk Laagnieuwkoop Nieuwer-Ter-Aa Noordeinde Oud-Aa Oukoop Portengen Portengense Brug Scheendijk Spengen Zuideinde
Former municipality of Loenen: Loenen (aan de Vecht) Loenersloot Mijnden Nieuwerhoek Nieuwersluis Nigtevecht Vreeland
Former municipality of Maarssen: Maarssen Maarssenbroek Maarsseveen Molenpolder Oud-Maarsseveen Oud-Zuilen Tienhoven
Politics
Municipal council After the 2026 local elections, the municipal council of Stichtse Vecht consisted of the following parties:
Political party SeatsLokaal Liberaal10GroenLinks / PvdA5D665Streekbelangen5VVD3CDA3ChristenUnie-SGP1PVV1Total33
Since 2020 the mayor has been , who is not a member of any political party.
Notable people
The arts Willem Vrelant (?? in Vreeland – ca.1481) a book illuminator Constantijn à Renesse (1626 in Maarssen – 1680) a Dutch Golden Age painter Gerrit Zegelaar (1719 in Loenen aan de Vecht – 1794) a painter Isabelle de Charrière (1740 in Castle Zuylen – 1805) a writer of letters, novels, pamphlets, music and plays Nicolaas Bastert (1854 in Maarssen – 1939) a landscape painter Marjolein Bastin (born 1943 in Loenen aan de Vecht) a nature artist, writer, children's author and illustrator Rutger Hauer (1944 in Breukelen – 2019) an actor, writer and environmentalist IMDb Database retrieved 24 September 2019 Penney de Jager (born 1948) dancer and choreographer, lives in Stichtse Vecht Leoni Jansen (1955 in Leiden) a singer, stage-director and TV anchor-woman IMDb Database retrieved 24 September 2019
Public thinking & public service Gerrit van Arkel (1858 in Loenen aan de Vecht – 1918) a Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) architect Aarnoud van Heemstra (1871 in Vreeland – 1957) a nobleman, jurist and politician. Pieter Nicolaas van Eyck (1887 in Breukelen – 1954) a foreign correspondent, poet, critic, essayist and philosopher Pierre Joseph Eyma (1903 in Maarssen – 1945) a botanist Annelien Kappeyne van de Coppello (1936 in Loenen aan de Vecht – 1990) a politician Sander Griffioen (born 1941 in Loenen aan de Vecht) a philosopher and academic Bernt Schneiders (born 1959 in Breukelen) a politician, Mayor of Landsmeer, Heemskerk & Haarlem Liesbeth Spies (born 1966 in Alphen aan den Rijn) a politician, Mayor of Alphen aan den Rijn Marianne Thieme (born 1972 in Ede) a politician, author, animal rights activist and jurist
Sport
Cor Aalten (1913 in Breukelen-Nijenrode – 1991) a Dutch athlete, competed at the 1932 Summer Olympics Henk van der Grift (born 1935 in Breukelen) a retired Dutch speed skater, competed at the 1960 Winter Olympics Bart Verschoor (born 1965 in Loenersloot) a sailor, competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics Annemieke Kiesel (born 1979 in Kockengen) a former footballer and coach, also played for the Dutch national team, retiring with 156 caps
References
External links
Official website