The emergence of Ommen The first inhabitants of the area around Ommen were probably
semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers.
Flint from the
Mesolithic period found in between Ommen and
Mariënberg indicates the presence of humans around 9,000 BCE, but there seems to have been hardly any
cultivation or permanent
settlement during this period. The first permanent settlers in Ommen were mixed crop-livestock farmers who also engaged in river trade and
innkeeping. Most of these first settlers were probably of
Saxon origin, though the
Salians who dominated the banks of the
IJssel also influenced the region economically, politically and religiously. The first houses in Ommen were
hutkommen: wooden houses of which the ground floor was typically around half a meter below the ground. A church was built at the heart of Ommen around 1150 and was soon after replaced by a stone church, indicating further growth of the settlement. Written records first mention Ommen as
de Vmme in 1133 and as
Ummen in 1227. This gradual growth, however, did not mean Ommen could also dominate the surrounding area politically, as there were many other powers in the land. Above all, the
Prince-Bishop of Utrecht, who had obtained dominion over all of
Oversticht from
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor, in 1010, repeatedly attempted to increase and centralise his authority over the towns and estates of Salland. The
burghers of nearby cities — especially
Zwolle — were also known to interfere in the region. More locally, farming communities in the eastern Netherlands organised themselves into
markes (autonomous areas) where a
buurschap (rule by neighbours) formed a unique kind of grassroots local government. Last but not least,
havezates (or
castles) arose in the area surrounding Ommen — especially at strategic points such as the banks of the Vecht (the
Arendshorst on the northern bank and
Beerze on the southern bank), the banks of the Regge (most notably at
Eerde) or both banks ('t Laer) — from which
robber barons dominated the surrounding area and could levy tolls on river commerce in defiance of the authority of the bishop. These robber barons and the
buurschappen formed a check on the influence of Ommen on the surrounding region — yet it was ironically due to one such robber baron that Ommen grew to become an outright city.
Development into a city On 25 August 1248, Ommen received
city rights and
fortification rights from Otto III, the Prince-Bishop of Utrecht, after the town was
pillaged by local robber baron Rudolf of
Coevorden and his militia of freemen in both 1215 and in the aftermath of the
Battle of Ane of 1227. Ommen's location at the confluence of two rivers at the heart of the region made it the bishop's strategic and logistic basis in the defence of his domain
Oversticht against the rebellious
Drents. Ommen thus became the 4th-oldest officially recognised city in Overijssel, after
Deventer (956 A.D.),
Zwolle and
Rijssen. A wall was soon erected around Ommen, including three
gates: the
Vechtpoort or
Voorbruggenpoort (on the bank of the Vecht), the
Varsenerpoort (on the western wall for traffic with
Varsen) and the
Arriërpoort (on the northern wall for traffic with
Arriën). Even to this day, the two
bells in the church's belltower, named
Maria and
Salvator and cast in 1517 by Hendrick de Tremonia of
Dordrecht, are rung every evening at nine o'clock. These so-called
Ave-Maria peals form a custom which traces its origin to the tradition of ringing the bell at the closing of the gates. Ommen never received a
moat, even though it was permitted one. Ommen soon became a regional port and market for agricultural products. Due to this commercial growth and strategic commercial position, Ommen eventually joined the
Hanseatic League as a smaller port, so most of its trade was not directly with the
Baltic Sea region, but with fellow Hanseatic cities
Zwolle,
Kampen,
Zutphen and especially
Deventer, of which it was a subsidiary city. A
toll bridge across the Vecht (first built in 1492) further increased its wealth and commercial importance, even though the toll bridge across the Vecht was destroyed by ice floes three times through the centuries. The
toll levy was usually auctioned off to private tax collectors, who resided in the toll house (built in 1531) next to the bridge. A bridge toll would be levied until 1925. For centuries during the Middle Ages, the
Estates of Oversticht, a
diet or
feudal parliament representing the quarters of
Salland,
Twenthe and
Vollenhove (and until 1527 also Drenthe) and the cities of Zwolle, Deventer and Kampen, convened just outside the city of Ommen at
Nieuwebrug (or New Bridge), named after the bridge over the
Regge on the road between Ommen and
Hellendoorn. Following a feud between Kampen and Zwolle in 1519, however, a gathering of the Estates was attacked by citizens of neighbouring Zwolle, who abducted three
noblemen and pillaged nearby
Eerde castle. During the years that followed,
conflict escalated in Overijssel.
War and disaster In 1522, citizens of
Zwolle attacked and pillaged Ommen with the aid of Duke
Charles of
Guelders who thus conquered the city from
Utrecht. Only the church and women's home
de Heilige Geest (the Holy Spirit) survived the pillage and fire. Ommen remained part of
Guelders until 1528, when
emperor Charles V inherited authority over the entire Duchy of Guelders, including
Overijssel. A new
city hall was built in 1531 in between the church and the Vrijthof square. The city was pillaged again in 1568 by Spanish troops under the 'Iron'
Duke of Alba, fighting for Charles's successor,
Philip II of Spain. This time, the pillage was not as devastating: Ommen's church, city hall and several other main buildings were spared. In 1581, the Estates of Overijssel convened outside Ommen to depose Philip and
proclaim the independence of the Netherlands. Though a '
Golden Age' for the young
Dutch Republic, the 17th century proved rather devastating for Ommen. A great fire in 1624 inflicted serious damage on the church, of which only the foundations and a few walls remained. To control traffic and to prevent military invasions from the north, the fortification of
Ommerschans was constructed. In 1672, one of the most severe fires in Ommen's history raged through the entire city, destroying everything but the church. In that same year, the aptly named '
Rampjaar' (disaster year), the
Franco-Dutch War broke out, and until 1674 foreign troops (especially from
Münster) frequently marched through Ommen, demanding passage, payment, food and lodging. It was not until 1753 that Ommen had sufficiently recovered to afford a new city hall, built at the Vrijthof square, on the same location as the previous building. During the so-called '
periwig era' of decline in the Netherlands, discontent with oligarchical rule also increased in Ommen. In 1732, the citizens of Ommen rose up against the city council. A petition was handed to the Magistrate on May 31, in which a large share of the citizenry rejected its authority and asked it to resign. The council refused and severe riots ensued, but eventually order was restored. In 1762, a night guard was installed to maintain public order, but the unrest would remain until the
Batavian Revolution of 1795.
Ommen in modern times On March 2, 1809, the municipal authorities prepared a welcome for the visit of
Lodewijk Napoleon, king of the short-lived
Kingdom of Holland. They were disappointed when they found out the king had already passed Ommen the day before. The three burgomasters quickly pursued the king and met with his party near
Gramsbergen, still receiving a gift of 1000 Dutch
guilders for the well-intended preparations for his visit. When his brother
Napoleon Bonaparte annexed the
Kingdom of Holland into the
French Empire in 1810, he had all local government radically reformed to become compatible with French structures. Ommen too was affected: the separate jurisdictions of
Stad Ommen (composed of the city of Ommen and the
Ommerschans) and
Ambt Ommen (which comprised most of the rest of the current municipality,
Avereest and
Den Ham as well) were merged into one
Mairie Ommen (though
Den Ham became a separate municipality). This caused much controversy and discontent locally because the
marke communities thus lost their ancient rights of self-governance. In 1818, shortly after
Dutch independence, Mairie Ommen was once more decentralised into the municipalities Stad Ommen, Ambt Ommen and Avereest. To ensure good coordination, one
burgomaster was appointed over both Stad and Ambt from 1851 onwards. To safeguard the eastern borders of the newly established Kingdom of the Netherlands, plans were drawn by order of
Baron Krayenhoff in 1819 to convert Ommen into a city with fortifications. However, these radical plans (
Ontwerp ter bevestiging van Ommen 1819) were not carried out in the end, as the
IJssel river to the west was considered a more natural line of defence. Although renovated and expanded in 1758, the toll house next to the bridge (also called the bridge master's house) was torn down in 1827 to be replaced by a new city hall, designed by the architect
J.P. Orentzburg. This new building, situated on the bank of the Vecht, housed all offices of the municipal authorities — including the city council, the court, the tax and toll office, the Gentlemen's Society and the home of the burgomaster. The court moved to a new building in 1882. The burgomaster and the Gentlemen's Society moved soon afterwards. The city hall was renovated and expanded in 1925 and again in 1955. The municipal authorities left the building in 1982. It has since been converted into a museum and a restaurant. In 1923, the municipalities of Stad Ommen and Ambt Ommen were once again merged. The borders of the municipality have remained unchanged since, with the exception of the eastern part of
Lemelerveld which came under the municipality of
Dalfsen in 1997. On the night of 6 February 1972, a
Palestine terrorist organisation named
Black September attempted to blow up a
natural gas pipeline at a distribution hub near Ommen, but not all explosives were detonated. A blue bag filled with explosives was found after the explosion, next to a crater. During the same night there were also attacks in
Hamburg and the Dutch village of
Ravenstein — and later that year, Black September also caused the
Munich Massacre.
Eerde About four kilometres () south-east of Ommen and adjacent to the hamlet of
Eerde lies the castle Eerde, a castle in the Dutch-classical style from 1715, surrounded by a 1,667
hectare estate in the
Baroque style managed by the
Natuurmonumenten foundation since 1965. The name "Eerde" is a Saxon word meaning "earth". The first castle on this site was built in the 14th century, but was soon destroyed by the
bishop's men in 1380 — along with the fortifications of the town of Ommen. In the centuries since, the
Van Twickelo,
Van Renesse and
Van Pallandt families have lived in castles on this site. The castle was used by the famous
philosopher and
spiritual teacher Jiddu Krishnamurti, of whom Baron
Philip van Pallandt was an avid follower, from about 1924 to just before the start of the
Second World War. Van Pallandt granted Krishnamurti a territory at the
Besthemerberg, north of Eerde. There Krishnamurti held his
Order of the Star in the East lectures and meetings in front of audiences of thousands of people from dozens of countries. During the Second World War, a
Nazi concentration camp,
Kamp Erika, was situated at the Besthemerberg. Only eight Jews were detained here; the camp was designated mostly for Dutchmen convicted of black market trade or resistance to the occupational authorities. The camp was notorious for the brutal behaviour of its personnel, leading Dutch judges to refuse to send convicts there in 1943. The camp was turned into an
Arbeitserziehungslager mostly for those refusing to do forced labour, but in the fall of 1944 it once again became a penal camp. The camp was liberated on 11 April 1945. From 1945 to 1946, the camp was instead used to detain Dutchmen who had
collaborated with the
German occupiers. Their treatment was not much better. Nowadays the castle houses the private international boarding school Eerde, which offers the
IB programme.
Ommerschans About ten kilometres () due north of Ommen lies the former Ommerschans fortification. The
Ommerschans was a
fortress built in 1628 as part of a defence line to defend the northern provinces of
Groningen and
Friesland from the marauding
count Hendrik van den Bergh (in
Spanish service) after the expiration of the
Twelve Years' Truce. Hendrik, a nephew of
William of Orange, then defected to the
Dutch Republic in 1633. The defences of the Ommerschans were restrengthened in the middle of the 17th century to deter and halt a possible invasion from the German states. Despite these new fortifications, the Ommerschans was captured without any resistance when Prince-Bishop
Bernhard von Galen of
Münster and Archbishop-Elector
Maximilian Henry of
Cologne invaded in 1672, the so-called
rampjaar (or disaster year) that started the
Franco-Dutch War. The 146
musketeers and 55
pikemen stationed at the Ommerschans fled north, only to return later that year when the bishops retreated after their failed
siege of the northern city of
Groningen. Under pressure from the citizens of Ommen and after the
Peace of Utrecht of 1713, the fortress was closed down in 1715, only to be reinstated as a fortified
arsenal in 1740 when
war reignited in
Continental Europe. During the
Patriot Revolt of 1787, militias from
Zwolle,
Kampen and
Vollenhove conquered and pillaged the Ommerschans, stealing all its weaponry to help them in their paramilitary struggle against the
regime. The Ommerschans fortification became abandoned and would never again be used for military purposes. In the early 19th century, the Dutch government changed it into a resocialisation institution and labour camp for beggars, prostitutes and alcoholics from
Amsterdam and other
western cities. They were supposed to learn farming and morals by experience so they could reintegrate into society. In reality the beggars were used for semi-forced and all-but-unpaid labour to
reclaim the
wetlands surrounding Ommerschans, eventually reclaiming an area of 4 by kilometres. Politician and novelist
Jacob van Lennep visited Ommerschans during his walking tour with
Dirk van Hogendorp across the newly independent
United Kingdom of the Netherlands in the summer of 1823, and documented his shock at the conditions at the labour camp: "These hours are certainly among the saddest I have lived through." When the institution went bankrupt in 1859 the Dutch government managed the labour camp until 1889, when it was finally closed down. During its years in operation, between several hundred and two thousand workers would live at Ommerschans at any one time, and an estimated 5448 workers died whilst interned there. ==The city of Ommen==