Stichtse Vecht
# Stichtse Vecht

Stichtse Vecht is a municipality of the Netherlands and lies in the northwestern part of the province of Utrecht.

The municipality has about 63,000 inhabitants and covers an area of about 107 km² (41 sq mi).

Stichtse Vecht has been newly formed by a merger of the municipalities of Breukelen (in the west), Maarssen (in the east) and Loenen (in the north) on 1 January 2011.

## Geography

Stichtse Vecht is situated north of the city of Utrecht, in an area called the Vechtstreek. It is near sea level and is mostly rural with many pastures.

Within its boundaries lay the Maarsseveense Plassen, which are recreational lakes. Northeast it borders the Loosdrechtse Plassen, also recreational lakes, which lay in neighbouring municipality of Wijdemeren.

The Amsterdam–Rhine Canal and the river Vecht crosses the municipality from south to north.

## Topography

Dutch Topographic map of Stichtse Vecht, June 2015

## History

The municipality contains many stately homes (buitenplaatsen) and several castles, like Nijenrode Castle, Slot Zuylen and Huis te Mijnden.

## Transportation

The A2 motorway crosses the municipality from south to north.

There are two railway stations:

* Breukelen railway station
* Maarssen railway station

## Politics

### Municipal council

The municipal council consists of the following parties:

| Political party | Seats |
| - | - |
| VVD | 8 |
| CDA | 5 |
| Maarssen2000 | 4 |
| D66 | 3 |
| PvdA | 3 |
| GroenLinks | 2 |
| ChristenUnie-SGP | 2 |
| Streekbelangen | 2 |
| Het Vechtse Verbond | 2 |
| Breukelen Beweegt | 1 |
| Maarssen Natuurlijk | 1 |
| Total | 33 |

### Executive board

VVD, CDA, D66, ChristenUnie-SGP, Streekbelangen and Het Vechtse Verbond have formed a coalition. Together they have 22 seats. Members of the executive board are:

Mayor:

* Marc Witteman (CDA)

Aldermen:

* Pieter de Groene (D66)
* Gera Helling-Zeisseink (CDA)
* Vital van der Horst (Streekbelangen)
* Piet Ploeg (VVD)
* Jaap Verkroost (CDA)
* Klaas Wiersema (VVD)

## Notable people

### The Arts

* Willem Vrelant (?? in Vreeland - ca.1481) a Dutch book illuminator
* Constantijn à Renesse (1626 in Maarssen – 1680) a Dutch Golden Age painter
* Gerrit Zegelaar (1719 in Loenen aan de Vecht – 1794) a Dutch painter
* Isabelle de Charrière (1740 in Castle Zuylen – 1805) a Dutch writer of letters, novels, pamphlets, music and plays
* Nicolaas Bastert (1854 in Maarssen – 1939) a Dutch landscape painter
* Marjolein Bastin (born 1943 in Loenen aan de Vecht) a Dutch nature artist, writer, children's author and illustrator
* Rutger Hauer (1944 in Breukelen – 2019) a Dutch actor, writer and environmentalist
* Penney de Jager (born 1948) dancer and choreographer, lives in Stichtse Vecht
* Leoni Jansen (1955 in Leiden) a Dutch singer, stage-director and TV anchor-woman

### Public thinking & Public Service

* Gerrit van Arkel (1858 in Loenen aan de Vecht – 1918) a Dutch Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) architect
* Aarnoud van Heemstra (1871 in Vreeland – 1957) a Dutch nobleman, jurist and politician.
* Pieter Nicolaas van Eyck (1887 in Breukelen - 1954) a foreign correspondent, poet, critic, essayist and philosopher
* Pierre Joseph Eyma (1903 in Maarssen – 1945) a Dutch botanist
* Annelien Kappeyne van de Coppello (1936 in Loenen aan de Vecht – 1990) a Dutch politician
* Sander Griffioen (born 1941 in Loenen aan de Vecht) a Dutch philosopher and academic
* Bernt Schneiders (born 1959 in Breukelen) a Dutch politician, Mayor of Landsmeer, Heemskerk & Haarlem
* Liesbeth Spies (born 1966 in Alphen aan den Rijn) a Dutch politician, Mayor of Alphen aan den Rijn
* Marianne Thieme (born 1972 in Ede) a Dutch politician, author, animal rights activist and jurist

### Sport

* Cor Aalten (1913 in Breukelen-Nijenrode – 1991) a Dutch athlete, competed at the 1932 Summer Olympics
* Henk van der Grift (born 1935 in Breukelen) a retired Dutch speed skater, competed at the 1960 Winter Olympics
* Bart Verschoor (born 1965 in Loenersloot) a sailor, competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics
* Annemieke Kiesel (born 1979 in Kockengen) a former Dutch footballer and coach, also played for the Dutch national team, retiring with 156 caps
