Enter (town)

Enter (Low German: "Eanter") is a village in the west of Twente in the province of Overijssel, The Netherlands. It is part of the municipality of Wierden, between Almelo, Goor, Bornerbroek and Rijssen and has approximately 7500 inhabitants.

History

The history of the town dates back to approximately 1200, when the name of Enter first appeared in writings. The people of Enter were mainly occupied as gooseherd or wooden shoe manufacturers. Furthermore, Enter was the center for the construction of a certain type of ships, called Zomp, in the 18th century and the 19th century. Numerous buildings reminding of this time has been broken down recently, to make place for new buildings.

The town

The village has experienced a significant growth in both inhabitants ans size in recent years. For a long time, the village was mainly situated along the main road and the roads leading to Goor, Rijssen and Wierden. The surrounding area was mainly made up of grass lands. Around 1940, the expansion of the village was started. The new buildings were mainly terraced houses. Around 1975, the second expansion wave was started, leading to the village as it is today.

The new development "de Goorens" stretches from Enter in the direction of Goor and Bornerbroek. The district Goorens was built in short time around 1980. Much of the streets in this district are named for old farms in the region of Enter, such as: "Erve Smedinck" and "Erve Effinck". The new development "de Akkers" (around 100 houses) was finished in 2007. Mid 2007/2008 construction of the new development "de Berghorst" will start. This is a project of the municipality of Wierden. There is also a lot of building activity in the center of the town. Old buildings are replaced with new buildings.

Population

Religion

In comparison with surrounding villages, a large percentage of the inhabitants is Roman-Catholic are non religious.

The village has a number of churches:
* a Roman-Catholic church
* a Reformed Church
* a Dutch Reformed Church
* a church of the Netherlands Reformed Congregations

The Reformed Church and the Dutch Reformed Church joined the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN) on May 1 2004.

Traditions

Like many villages in Twente and the Achterhoek, the indigenous population of Enter have nicknames like Broeze (Velten family), Timmerjans (Schuitemaker), Saaltink (another branch of the Velten family), Boone (Roetgerink), Pöppen (Mekenkamp), Knibbelhein (Hein Waanders), Stiems (ter Steege) and De Moane (Manenschijn or Moonshine). A difference with the other villages is that much of the nicknames in Enter are not derived from the name of the farm of the family.

The tradition of wooden shoe manufacturing is still maintained in Enter. Therefore, Enter is often credited as the "Klompendorp" (Wooden Shoe village).

Character of the inhabitants and tongue

People from enter are proud of their accent, their culture and their village, but are very obstinate. The accent in Enter differs greatly from surrounding villages.

Politics

Voters in Enter are more progressive and left oriented in comparison to surrounding villages.

For information about the municipality politics, see Wierden.

Amenities

hops

The center of Enter comprises a wide range of shops, including several clothes stores, three supermarkets, pharmacies, bookshops, electric shops and florists.

Education

The village has four Primary schools; "De Wegwijzer", "de Roerganger", de "Mariaschool" en de "Jozefschool". Furthermore, the hamlet of Ypelo has its own school, the "Ypeloschool".

Healthcare

Enter has several doctors, maternity nurses and home care nurses. There is also a pharmacy.

Graveyards

The village has three graveyards, two of which are no longer in use.

Culture

Enter has two annual events, the horse market and a carnival. There is a weekly market on the townsquare.

In the summer, the "Gengelavonden" take place. These are evenings where local merchants sell their wares on the street.

Enter has several cultural companies: a dramatic arts company, several choirs, music companies, artistic groups and a creative center: "'t Zumpke".

Sports

The Gymnastics association "Raduga" offers sports varying from jazzdans to gymnastics. Furthermore, the village houses soccer clubs "Enter Vooruit" and "s.v. Enter", the volleybal club "Holyoke", and a tennis club.

The village is located along the European hiking route E11, locally known as the Marskramerpad or Handelsweg. The E11 runs all the way from Den Haag to the east, at the present time all the way to the border between Poland and Lithuania.

Economy

Tourism

The village has several tourist accommodations. There is also a museum, focused on special wooden shoes and the ships that used to be manufactured in the village. Furthermore, a biking route is created in the surroundings of "de Lee".

The biggest wooden shoe in the world from one piece of timber is located in Enter.

Industry

Enter has a favourable location along the Motorway A1 (Amsterdam-Hengelo) and the Provincial road N347 (Rijssen-Goor). Many nationally and internationally oriented businesses are established on the business park "de Vonder".

Famous people from Enter

* Folkert Velten (soccer player for Heracles Almelo)
* Hennie Stamsnijder (cyclist)
* Tom Stamsnijder (cyclist)
* Bert Boom (cyclist)
* Erik Braamhaar (referee)

External links

* [http://www.wierden.nl Website municipality of Wierden]