Denekamp

Denekamp originated in a place where people were out of reach of the flood water of the river Dinkel, which still runs through the municipality. Denekamp was later formed by merging the hamlets of Denekamp, Noord-Deurnigen and Beuningen (now the municipality of Losser). The name hamlet was introduced in the Middle Ages for settlements that already had a certain size and had a certain core. They were close-knit, often closed communities.
The lands in and around Denekamp were for the most part owned by the bishop of Utrecht until 1527. Around the 15th century, the town of Denekamp was a relatively small village with barely 100 houses, spread along a single village street in the vicinity of a church. This church was built in the 13th century from Bentheimer sandstone. The tower was added a little later, around 1436. This building can still be found at the Sint Nicolaaskerk in the village of Denekamp.
Denekamp is still a place that is strongly characterized by the Roman Catholic faith. In its surroundings we also find monasteries. The Franciscans of Denekamp even form a separate congregation. In the monastery of this congregation the prelate Johannes Gerardus Maria Kardinaal Willebrands stayed in his quiet old age.
The people in the village were mostly farmers. Gradually, especially over the last century and a half, these farms have had to make way for housing and retail construction.

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