Dorst

Dorst
Small Town
Country Netherlands
Province North Brabant
Municipality Oosterhout
Population (2004)
  Total 2,430
  Source: CBS, Statline.
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)

Dorst is a small town in the municipality Oosterhout, in the Dutch province Noord-Brabant. The town has 2.430 citizens (2004). Dorst is located near Rijen and the nearest cities are Breda, Oosterhout and Tilburg.

Toponymy

The name Dorst is supposed to originate from Dornt, which would refer to meidoorn, that was used as plot separation.

Another explanation is a contraction of the words "De Horst".

History

Dorst was first mentioned in 1290, then in 1323 and thereafter more regularly. Willem van Duivenvoorde was the lord of Kasteel Strijen in 1325 and thus also of Dorst.

In 1511 the chapel of Dorst was first mentioned. The chapel was devoted to the Holy Trinity. In 1648 the chapel had to be closed and it feel into disrepair. In 1675 the Catholics could use a barn church instead. In 1689 there was a Saint Marcoufrelic donated, which made Dorst into a sanctuary. In 1835 there was built a church across from the chapel. The chapel was demolished after that. In 1912 the church was also demolished and the current Sint-Marculphuskerk was built.

Dorst was poor: north of the town there was barren soil and south of the town there was a swampy area called 'het Goor'. To provide for the life maintenance the people devoted to goat breeding. Goats also produced milk, that milk was of great importance for the health of the people in the town.

In 1888 the Seterse Heide was designated as a catchment area and in 1894 the waterworks was built. The railway alongside Dorst was opened in 1867, but Dorst did not get a station. However from 1908 to 1930 there was a stopping place for the trains. North of the railway, at De Vliert 20, there was a brickyard. This was established at 1899 by Frans Oomen. The factory possessed a Hoffmann kiln and produced 5 to 6 million stones a year. For some time there also functioned a roof tilesfactory. The stone factory was demolished in 2010 after a time of vacancy.

In 1931 the Franciscans of Etten settled in Dorst. They provided the nursery school and the education for girls.

Already before World War II the tourism grew. Especially the in Boswachterij Dorst located Natuurbad Surae attracted people. There were also simple groupaccodommodations created, named campinghouses. Those houses have become out of use.

Sightseeings

Nature and landscape

North of Dorst there is the vast Boswachterij Dorst, a forest and nature area on the former Seterse Heide. South of Dorst there is a large-scale open agriculture area.

Services

There is education on the elementary school Marcoen. Dorst is accessible via N282 and the A27. Bus transportation is done by Veolia Transport Nederland:

Near cities

Teteringen, Breda, Oosterhout, Rijen, Molenschot, and Bavel.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, March 27, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.