Scherpenzeel is a municipality and a town in the Dutch province of Gelderland. As of June 2008, it has a population of 8945, with approximately 6000 possessing suffrage. The community of Scherpenzeel also contains a part of the hamlet Moorst.
Centuries ago, what is now the Netherlands was still a collection of small states, ruled by bishops, earls, dukes, and lords. These rulers were constantly at war over territory, causing fortifications and de...
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Scherpenzeel is a municipality and a town in the Dutch province of Gelderland. As of June 2008, it has a population of 8945, with approximately 6000 possessing suffrage. The community of Scherpenzeel also contains a part of the hamlet Moorst.
Centuries ago, what is now the Netherlands was still a collection of small states, ruled by bishops, earls, dukes, and lords. These rulers were constantly at war over territory, causing fortifications and defenses to be built in border areas. This was the case in the Veluwe hills, which lay along the border of what is now Utrecht and Gelderland, where many castles and fortresses were constructed as safe havens. Hence, the name "Scherpenzeel", formerly known as "Scarpenzele", allows us to infer that there was a settlement built around a house ("zele") with sharpened poles ("scarpen"), the prototype of an old castle.
The possession of Scherpenzeel was at various times claimed by either Gelderland or Utrecht, but it has now been a part of Gelderland...
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