Raalte

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Raalte


mapsize = 280px
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Netherlands
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = Overijssel
area_footnotes = (2006)
area_total_km2 = 172.31
area_land_km2 = 171.28
area_water_km2 = 1.02
population_as_of = 1 January, 2007
population_note = Source: CBS, [http://statline.cbs.nl/ Statline] .
settlement_type = Municipality
population_total = 37333
population_density_km2 = 218
timezone = CET
utc_offset = +1
timezone_DST = CEST
utc_offset_DST = +2

.

Population centres

The municipality consists of the following towns and villages.

Accessibility; economy

Heino and Raalte have railway stations along the minor railroad Zwolle - Almelo. Frequency: mostly twice per hour.

An important road for motorists is the N348 Deventer - Wesepe ( mun. Olst-Wijhe - Raalte - Lemelerveld - Ommen ( in northeasterly direction from Deventer). In Raalte it crosses a road (N35) from Zwolle going south-east over Laag Zuthem, Heino, Raalte, Mariënheem, Nijverdal, Wierden eastbound to Almelo.

Raalte has a lot of small industrial enterprises, many of them processing agricultural products. For the local economy, trade, agriculture (especially breeding cattle) and tourism are more important.Raalte is the main place of the municipality, with over 20,000 mostly Roman Catholic inhabitants. It is a regional market, education and shopping centre.

ights and Events

* Once a year there is a harvest festival called "Stöppelhaene". Its name in regional dialect means: a rooster made out of straw. It is held in Raalte in the last week of August. The event was established in 1950.
* Luttenberg is famous for its motorcycle races every summer.
* Luttenberg is also famous for its Lourdes Cave, an artificial cave with a statue of the Virgin Mary of Lourdes, situated at the centre of the village opposing the parish church.
* South-west of Heino, just across the railroad and the border to Olst-Wijhe, stands the castle Nijenhuis. It hosts an important art museum ( Constant Permeke, Van Gogh et.al.). Around the castle is a beautiful sculpture garden (Ossip Zadkine et al.).
* Near Luttenberg there is a small hill (Luttenberg) covered with heath and forest, where nice walks can be made.
* The Roman Catholic basilica "Kruisverheffing" (Exaltation of the Holy Cross) in Raalte. This Neo-Gothic church was built in 1892. During "Stöppelhaene" there is an exposition of mosaics made out of seeds, representing religious themes. The festival starts and ends with special Holy Masses in this church.
* The small "Plaskerk", the oldest building in the centre of Raalte. It is a Protestant church. A typical example of Dutch religious tolerance was the fact, that the Protestants were allowed to hold their Sunday services in the big Roman Catholic church, as the Plaskerk was restored in 2006.

External links

* [http://www.raalte.nl Official Website]
* [http://www.ifalk.nl/olstwijhe034s4vfv/ Map]
* [http://www.vvvraalte.nl Tourist Office in Raalte] (Dutch; brief summary in English and German)
* [http://www.stoppelhaene.nl Harvest celebration] (in Dutch)
* [http://www.keilholtz.nl/basiliek/basiliek/images/p5080210.jpgImage of the Raalte Basilica "Kruisverheffing"]
* [http://www.museumhsf.nl/t4.asp?path=z8yiyvy9 Castle Nijenhuis] (Dutch)

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