VEENHUIZEN

Veenhuizen originally formed a peat extraction village. In 1823, the appearance of the village changed completely when the Society of Benevolence entered into a contract with the Dutch government to build three large institutions for poor families.
The Society aimed to rehabilitate the poor through labor on the land and in peat extraction. Initially, poor families from the large cities were given the opportunity to voluntarily come to Drenthe and settle there in colonies. The idea behind this was that one could build a new existence as a farmer.
Since apparently not all involved wanted to come to Drenthe of their own free will, it was decided to implement 'care' in forced institutions. Each institution provided shelter for an average of 1,200 residents. They were accommodated in dormitories of 80 people, which were converted into work and dining halls during the day.
In 1859, the institutions in Veenhuizen were taken over by the national government and transformed into penal facilities. A small village was built for the prison staff, around the institutions.
Very characteristic of Veenhuizen are the monumental buildings. There were different types of houses; depending on rank, an official was assigned one. The distinctive feature is that various houses received pious inscriptions on the facade that related to the occupation of the residents. Thus, in the house with 'Order and Discipline' lived the headmaster, in 'Care and Diligence' resided the shopkeeper, the preacher in 'Humanity', while the doctor had 'Devotion' and the pharmacy had 'Bitter and Sweet' inscribed on the front. The pedagogical thought was to instill the virtues in the prisoners during their daily journey to work in this way.
Since 1981, there has been free access to the village. Before that time, the village was prohibited for non-prison staff.
Currently, about 1,000 detainees are incarcerated in the Penitentiary Institution Veenhuizen, which consists of the locations Esserheem and Norgerhaven.

By the photo: The octagonal Dutch Reformed Church (built between 1825 and 1826)

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