Pekela
# Pekela

Pekela (Dutch pronunciation: (listen)) is a municipality in the province of Groningen in the Netherlands. It was created in 1990 when Oude Pekela and Nieuwe Pekela were merged.

## History

The municipality of Pekela was created when the municipalities of Oude Pekela and Nieuwe Pekela were merged in 1990.

## Geography

Pekela is located at 53°6′N 7°0′E﻿ / ﻿53.100°N 7.000°E﻿ / 53.100; 7.000 in the southeast of the province of Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. It is bordered by the municipalities of:

* Oldambt (in the north)
* Bellingwedde (east)
* Stadskanaal (south)
* Veendam (west)
* Menterwolde (northwest).

The river Pekel Aa crosses the municipality from north to south. The main population centres in the municipality are the villages of Boven Pekela [nl] (Upper Pekela), Nieuwe Pekela (New Pekela), and Oude Pekela (Old Pekela). Part of the village of Alteveer and the hamlets of Bronsveen and Hoetmansmeer [nl] are also in the municipality.

The municipality has a total area of 50.20 $km^2$ (19.38 sq mi), of which 49.04 $km^2$ (18.93 sq mi) is land and 1.16 $km^2$ (0.45 sq mi) is water.

## Governance

Mayor (burgemeester) of Pekela is Jaap Kuin of the Labour Party. The municipal council of Pekela consists of 15 seats, which are divided as follows:

Municipality seats :

| Party | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| PvdA | 6 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 2 |
| GroenLinks | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| CDA | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| VVD | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| SP | - | - | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| ChristenUnie | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 |
| Samen Voor Pekela | - | - | - | 4 | 3 |
| VCP | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Total | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 |

## Demographics

In 2021, the municipality had a total population of 12,176 and a population density of $248/km^2$ (640/sq mi).

## Notable people

* Jan de Boer (1859 in Nieuwe Pekela – 1941) a Dutch gymnast who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics
* Fré Meis (1921–1992), communist politician
* Janneke Snijder-Hazelhoff (born 1952 in Nieuwe Pekela) a Dutch farmer and politician
* Gerard Wiekens (born 1973 in Oude Pekela) a Dutch former footballer with 518 club caps who played for SC Veendam and Manchester City F.C.

## Gallery

* Villa Elsa, Clockstraat, Oude Pekela
* Art project "Geveltjes viadukt" in Nieuwe Pekela
* Het Dokhuis, a retirement home in Oude Pekela
* Pekelder Windmill "De Onrust" in Oude Pekela
