Lichtenvoorde
Lichtenvoorde is a town in the east of the Netherlands, in the municipality of Oost Gelre.
Lichtenvoorde | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
| Coordinates: 51°59′17″N 6°34′11″E | |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Province | Gelderland |
| Municipality | Oost Gelre |
| Population | 12,919 |
Lichtenvoorde holds a flower parade (bloemencorso) every September at the start of its annual festival. The parade features floats covered in flowers (usually dahlias) in imaginative designs depicting a variety of themes.
Lichtenvoorde has a motorcross circuit on which international grands prix are held.
History
Lichtenvoorde was the name of a municipality that included the town and the villages of Lievelde, Zieuwent, Vragender and Harreveld, until 1 January 2005, when all were merged into the municipality of Oost Gelre.
Its inhabitants are known colloquially as keienslöppers (boulder draggers) due to a historic event. On 15 March 1874, 99 of the town's shoemakers dragged a 20 ton boulder a distance of around four kilometres to the marketplace to serve as a centerpiece for commemoration of King William III's silver jubilee, after 25 years on the country's throne. The boulder remains there to this day, topped by a stone lion holding the town's coat of arms.
Gallery
Catholic church in Lichtenvoorde
Lichtenvoorde, Protestant church
Farm at the open-air museum Erve Kots in Lievelde
Catholic church in Zieuwent
Vragender Village
Windmill Hermien in Harreveld