Haaksbergen (Low Saxon: Hoksebarge) is a municipality and village in Twente, in the Dutch province of Overijssel. The municipality has 24,275 inhabitants (August 1, 2020 source: Statistics Netherlands). Haaksbergen is close to Hengelo (11 km) and Enschede (12 km). The total area is 105.55 km² (of which water: 0.27 km²). The municipality of Haaksbergen, which calls itself Ster in Twente, works together with other municipalities in the Twente region.
The municipality of Haaksbergen is located in the
south of Twente. Besides the main town, it consists of the villages
of Buurse and St. Isidorushoeve and a number of hamlets. The
municipality borders in the north on the Overijssel municipalities
of Hof van Twente, Hengelo and Enschede. In addition, the boundary
of Haaksbergen in the southwest simultaneously forms the provincial
boundary with Gelderland and the municipality of Berkelland. The
German municipalities of Vreden and Ahaus are located in the south
and southeast.
South of the village of Haaksbergen is the
Lankheet estate, where the water of the Buurserbeek is purified
using reed filters.
History
The earliest traces of
habitation within the current municipal boundaries of Haaksbergen
have been found along the Buurserbeek. They probably date from
around 800 BC. The village of Haaksbergen was created much later,
around 800 AD, as an agricultural settlement further downstream on
the Buurserbeek. Remains have been found of a wooden church from
around the year 1000, predecessor of the current St. Pancratius
Church. The first mention of Haaksbergen dates from 1188. In a
12th-century property register, Count Hendrik van Dale, who also
owned Diepenheim and Ahaus, listed property in the parish of
Hockesberghe. At the beginning of the 14th century, the Marches were
created, which continued to exist until the mid-19th century. The
marches Brammelo, Langelo, Eppenzolder / Stepelo, Holthuizen,
Boekelo and Haaksbergen / Honesch belonged to Haaksbergen.
Around 1400 the Buurserbeek, which until then flowed through the
village, was relocated and connected to the Schipbeek south of
Haaksbergen. This created a water connection with the IJssel and the
Hanseatic cities of Deventer, Zwolle and Zutphen could be reached by
water. In the 18th century, a flour mill was built, called De
Korenbloem.
The textile industry was of great importance from
the middle of the 19th century. The factory of D. Jordaan & Zonen
provided a lot of employment. At its peak, 80% of Haaksbergen's
workforce was employed in the textile sector. The textile industry
collapsed in the early 1970s, and the factory in Haaksbergen also
closed.