Diever

Diever
—  Town  —
Sint-Pancratiuskerk van Diever
The town centre (dark green) and the statistical district (light green) of Diever in the municipality of Westerveld.
Coordinates: 52°51′20″N 6°19′3″E / 52.85556°N 6.3175°E / 52.85556; 6.3175Coordinates: 52°51′20″N 6°19′3″E / 52.85556°N 6.3175°E / 52.85556; 6.3175
Country	Netherlands
Province	Drenthe
Municipality	Westerveld
Population (1 January 2008)[1]
- Total	2,090
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code

Diever is a town in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Westerveld, and lies about 18 km northwest of Hoogeveen.

Diever is located near the Drentse Hoofdvaart, a major north-south route for pleasure boats in the province of Drenthe. Diever^[where?] lies next to the Drents-Friese Wold, one of the major^{[clarification needed]} national parks in the Netherlands, and a major attraction for tourists.^{[citation needed]} In the centre of Diever there is the brink, a square with old buildings surrounding it. The Dutch Reformed Saint Pancratius-church is a 15th century building, and considered one of the most beautiful churches of Drenthe.

Diever was a separate municipality until 1998, when the new municipality of Westerveld was created.^[2]

In 2001, the town of Diever had 1941 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 0.80 km², and had 810 residences.^[3] The statistical area "Diever", which also can include the surrounding countryside, has a population of around 2580.^[4]

Shakespeare

In July and August some of the local people of Diever^[who?] perform in dramas written by William Shakespeare.^{[citation needed]} Diever is also known as "Shakespeare-town".^{[citation needed]} The plays are being performed in an open-air theater and are famous^{[citation needed]} in the Netherlands. Even in Stratford-upon-Avon people appearently know^[who?] that the local people of Diever^[who?] perform in Shakespeare's plays.^{[citation needed]} The local amateur theater group^[who?] was formed in 1946 by a local medical doctor, Mr. Derp Broekema.^{[citation needed]} Thus in 2006 we celebrated the 60th anniversary of this annual event with the performance of Henry IV.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ CBS Statline
2. ^ Ad van der Meer and Onno Boonstra, "Repertorium van Nederlandse gemeenten", KNAW, 2006. [1]
3. ^ Statistics Netherlands (CBS), Bevolkingskernen in Nederland 2001. (Statistics are for the continuous built-up area).
4. ^ Statistics Netherlands (CBS), Statline: Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2003-2005. As of 1 January 2005.

External links

• J. Kuyper, Gemeente Atlas van Nederland, 1865-1870, "Diever". Map of the former municipality in 1868.