Hellendoorn

Hellendoorn is a municipality and a town in the middle of the Dutch province of Overijssel.

There is an amusement park near the town of Hellendoorn called Avonturenpark Hellendoorn.

Population centres
The municipality comprises:

Towns:
 * Hellendoorn
 * Nijverdal

Hamlets:
 * nl
 * Daarlerveen
 * nl
 * Egede
 * nl
 * nl
 * Hulsen
 * nl
 * nl (former hamlet, now an integrated part of Nijverdal)

Geography
The central part of the municipality consists of a hilly and sparsely populated area that extends south into the municipality of Rijssen-Holten, called the Sallandse Heuvelrug (Salland Ridge). The highest point lies at about 70 m above sea level and is part of the nl. A large chunk of the area is covered by forest, but there are also heathlands. This scenery is now part of the Sallandse Heuvelrug National Park.

Originally part of the region of Salland, Hellendoorn is now administratively considered part of Twente; a fact reflected in the inclusion of Hellendoorn in the city region of Twente (Kaderwetgebied Regio Twente) as defined by the Dutch government.

History
The municipality of Hellendoorn is the only place in the Netherlands where gold mining took place.

The Germans operated a V-2 launching platform near the town of Hellendoorn during World War II, harassing the city of London.

On March, 22nd 1945, Nijverdal was severely bombed by allied bombers who were going after the German Reichskommissar of Austrian origin Arthur Seyss-Inquart. Seyss-Inquart was fleeing the advancing Allied forces and had set up his temporary headquarters in the Reformed School in Nijverdal, but had already left town at the time of the bombing. Over 70 people were killed, mainly at de Grotestraat.

A small part of the film A Bridge Too Far was filmed near Hellendoorn.

In 1955, part of the municipality of Wierden was annexed (Eversberg, Konijnenbelt, Slettenhaar and Lochter) which is the only part of the municipality located on originally Twente soil. In the late 70's the quarter of 'het Lochter' arose here.

Notable residents

 * Herman Ponsteen (born 1953), Dutch track cyclist who won silver at the 1976 Summer Olympics