Oude Pekela

History

In the 1590s, the Friesche Compagnie (Frisian Company) was founded to exploit the peat in the area. In 1599, the land around the River Pekel A was bought and subdivided in 101 lots. Oude Pekela was established to house the workers. The town is named after the Pekel A, and is a linear settlement along the river which has been canalised and renamed . In 1635, it became part of the , and was controlled by the city of Groningen as a colony. In 1704, the settlement was split into Oude Pekela (Old) and Nieuwe Pekela (New), because a second church was built. In 1801, all towns and villages had to be governed by a municipality, and the peat colony came to an end. It was originally a municipality with neighbouring Nieuwe Pekela. In 1808, Oude Pekela was home to 3,371 people. In 1810, after Napoleon annexed the Batavian Republic, Oude Pekela became a separate commune and a mayor was appointed the next year. Oude Pekela remained a separate municipality until 1990, when it merged with Nieuwe Pekela. The River Pekel A connected Oude Pekela with the Dollart and the Wadden Sea. In 1717, the first lock was constructed in the town. Around 1800, the peat became exhausted, and the skippers started to make longer journeys. First to Holland, and later to England, the Baltic and the Mediterranean. Boat builders set up shop in the village, and the maritime industry flourished. Oude Pekela developed into the centre of the cardboard and potato starch industry, The working conditions in the factories were also unsatisfactory. In 1969, strikes were organised by Fré Meis of the Communist Party (CPN). The CPN scored an electoral victory in the in Groningen with 14% of the votes, and Meis was promoted to the Executive Committee of the CPN. In 1685, the first Jews settled in Oude Pekela, and…

Most-observed species

• Common Buzzard

  Buteo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,161
• Gray/Purple Heron

  Ardea cinerea Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  7,638
• Great Egret

  Ardea alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  6,758
• European mole

  Talpa europaea Linnaeus, 1758 · Mammalia
  6,140
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  5,698
• muskrat

  Ondatra zibethicus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Mammalia
  5,447
• Common Chiffchaff

  Phylloscopus collybita (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  5,045
• Eurasian Kestrel

  Falco tinnunculus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,915

Most recent

• M 3.8 — 2025-11-14
  0 km ESE of Uithuizen, Netherlands
• M 2.7 — 2022-09-24
  3 km SSW of Spijk, Netherlands
• M 3.2 — 2019-05-22
  1 km E of Warffum, Netherlands
• M 3.4 — 2013-02-07
  1 km NE of Usquert, Netherlands
• M 3.4 — 2012-08-16
  1 km NNE of Loppersum, Netherlands
• M 3.3 — 2008-10-30
  2 km SSW of Usquert, Netherlands