Borger (Drents: Börger) is a place and former municipality in the province of Drenthe (Netherlands). Borger is located on the Hondsrug, in the municipality of Borger-Odoorn and has 4,840 inhabitants. Until the municipal reorganization on January 1, 1998, Borger was an independent municipality. In addition to the main village, the municipality consisted of the villages Bronneger, Buinen, Buinerveen, Drouwen, Drouwenerveen, Ees and Nieuw-Buinen and the hamlets Bronnegerveen, Drouwenermond, Eesergroen, Eeserveen, Ellertshaar and Westdorp.
Borger is known for, among other
things, the largest hunebed or dolmen in the Netherlands, the D27.
In the immediate vicinity of Borger there are 2 other dolmens D28
and D29. The new Hunebedcentrum is located in Borger, near the
hunebed D27. Here you will find a lot of information about hunebeds
in the Netherlands.
The presence of several hunebeds
indicates an early occupation of the area around Borger. Ludolph
Smids wrote in 'Treasury of Dutch antiquities' (1711) about several
hunebeds. Smids mentions that there are 16 hunebeds in Drouwen and 9
in Borger.
The current village of Borger is only mentioned
for the first time in the Middle Ages. The church in Borger is
considered to be the second church in the Oostermoer theme game,
founded from the mother church in Anloo. The cherry game Borger then
includes the neighborhoods Drouwen, which is even larger than
Borger, Ees, Westdorp, Buinen and Gasselte. Gasselte later became a
cherry of its own, but still shares the debt with Borger for
centuries. The choice of Borger as the location for a new church
seems to have been partly determined by the location of a number of
table goods belonging to the Utrecht bishop.
Borger's original medieval church was dedicated to Willibrord. Due to its dilapidated state, the church was demolished in the early 19th century and replaced by the current so-called Waterstaat Church. The tower is still the original Gothic tower from the 14th century. The church now houses Cultuurpodium VANSLAG. Before the culture stage took the building into use, the church was part of the Borger meeting center and connected to it via a corridor. The town hall of the former municipality of Borger was also located in this center.
There are various facilities such as a library, various associations including football club SV Borger, volleyball association VEB'98 and scouting group De Woudlopers, a sports hall, a swimming pool, shops, primary schools, a secondary school, Tourist Information Point, campsites and restaurant, open-air theater and a culture stage. in Borger.
There are three main roads that cross Borger:
N34:
Witte Paal - Hardenberg - Coevorden - Emmen - Borger - Gieten -
Zuidlaren - Groningen
N374: Hoogeveen - Westerbork - Borger -
Stadskanaal
N857: Borger - Papenvoort - Nooitgedacht - Rolde
The Borger exit of the N34 was considered very dangerous, there were
various (fatal) collisions. To remedy this, a grade-separated
intersection was constructed in 2008.
The P + R Borger bus station is located on the N34, where Qliner 300 from Qbuzz connects to regional transport.
Prehistoric Period
Human activity in the Borger area dates back
approximately 150,000 years, beginning with the ice ages that shaped
Drenthe's landscape, including the Hondsrug ridge. Around 130,000 years
ago, following the Saalian ice age, Neanderthals inhabited the region,
leaving behind primitive stone tools like the Drouwen axe, dated to
about 120,000 years ago. These artifacts represent the earliest human
traces, indicating adaptation to a post-glacial environment.
By
around 14,000 years ago, at the end of the Weichselian ice age, reindeer
hunters established temporary encampments, fireplaces, and flint tools
as the climate warmed, transforming the area from polar wastelands to
grassy steppes and forests. The most prominent prehistoric era is the
Neolithic period, from 3400 to 3000 BC, when the Funnel-Beaker
Culture—the first farmers—settled and constructed megalithic tombs known
as hunebeds using massive Ice Age boulders. The Hondsrug hosts 47 of the
Netherlands' 52 surviving hunebeds, with Borger central to this
concentration. The largest, D27, measures 22.5 meters long with 9
capstones, 26 side stones, and 2 keystones, serving as a burial site
where excavations revealed pottery and bones. Nearby D28 and D29 are
smaller dolmens; copper objects near D28, originating from Romania, are
the oldest metal finds in the Netherlands, suggesting early trade
networks. Over 5,000 years ago, these farmers cultivated small fields,
built modest houses, and navigated a landscape with wildlife like bears
and wolves.
During the Bronze Age (from around 2000 BC), burial
practices evolved with the construction of tumuli (burial mounds), often
containing bronze and gold jewelry, arrowheads, and swords. By 1200 BC,
urnfields emerged for cremated remains in pots, marking a shift to
cremation. In the Iron Age, Celtic fields—checkerboard patterns of small
40x40m plots separated by ridges—appeared, visible today as ancient
agricultural landscapes, alongside brandheuvels (burning mounds) over
funeral pyres. Although Drenthe was not conquered by the Romans (12
BC–400 AD), artifacts like statuettes, pottery, coins, and glass
indicate trade influences, including a third-century AD hoard of 115
silver coins near Anloo.
Early Middle Ages
Following the Roman
era and a period of depopulation, Germanic tribes repopulated the area
in the 5th and 6th centuries AD. Anglo-Saxons (later Frisians) settled
coastal regions, while Saxons from the east established villages in open
forest areas, leading to the naming of the land as Drenthe. Borger
developed as an esdorp (linear village) along the Hondsrug ridge and the
road from Groningen to Coevorden, facilitating trade and travel. In the
early 13th century, a daughter church was established from the parent
church in Anloo, marking Borger's emergence as a central settlement and
leading to the founding of satellite villages: Buinen, Drouwen, and
Westdorp. The medieval church, with its 14th-century tower, reflects
this period's architecture and community organization.
Medieval
and Early Modern Periods
Borger was first documented in 1327 as
"Johannes in Borghere," though its name's origin is unclear. The village
solidified its role in Drenthe, with an agrarian economy tied to the
surrounding landscape, including historical structures like an
18th-century sheep pen. By 1840, Borger had a population of 519 within
its 15.77 km² area, supported by agriculture and local trade along
historical routes. The church tower was restored in 1840, and the
medieval church was replaced in 1826, indicating ongoing community
maintenance.
Modern Period
In the 19th and 20th centuries,
interest in Borger's prehistoric sites grew. In 1865, amateur excavator
Titia Brongersma uncovered pottery and bones at D27, though no artifacts
survive. A 1984 discovery by a local youth yielded Bronze Age-dated
items, prompting calls for further study, though professional
excavations were limited. Cultural developments included the opening of
De Speulkoel open-air theater in 1958, seating 600 and hosting arts
events. In 1998, Borger merged into the municipality of Borger-Odoorn,
ending its independent status. The Hunebedcentrum, established as a
museum and knowledge center, opened in its current form around 2005 near
D27, featuring exhibits on ice ages, hunebed builders, a prehistoric
park with reconstructions (e.g., Neanderthal camps, reindeer hunter
huts, burial mounds), and educational programs like the Prehistoric
School. Today, Borger's economy emphasizes tourism, with walking and
cycling routes like the 14-km Elfhunebedden trail passing eleven
hunebeds, and its UNESCO Geopark status highlighting the Hondsrug's
geological and historical significance. The village remains a quiet
rural community, preserving its heritage amid Drenthe's forests and
fields.