Opijnen

Opijnen is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of West Betuwe, and lies about 10 km southwest of Tiel.

Opijnen
Village
The village centre (red) and the statistical district (light green) of Opijnen in the former municipality of Neerijnen.
Coordinates: 51°49′40″N 5°17′54″E
CountryNetherlands
ProvinceGelderland
MunicipalityWest Betuwe
Population
 (2005)
 • Total1,057
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)

Opijnen was a separate municipality until 1818, when it changed its name to Est en Opijnen.[1]

Opijnen is home to the graves of eight American airmen who were shot down on July 30, 1943, and killed while returning to England from a bombing raid over Kassel, Germany. The village honored the airmen - George Richard Krueger, Mike Anthony Perrotta, Daniel Victor Ohman, Hermon Daines Poling, Harold Royce Sparks, Robert Urquhart Duggan, Douglas Victor Blackwood, and Americo Chiafichi - by burying them in their cemetery. From that time and for seventy-five years afterwards, the village honored these men annually with a formal church service and then a laying of flowers on the graves. In 2006, the village opened a housing complex with eighty-six units. The airmen were further honored by having the streets in that housing complex named after them.[2]

In 2001, the village of Opijnen had 641 inhabitants. The built-up area of the village was 0.18 km², and contained 260 residences.[3] The statistical area "Opijnen", which also can include the peripheral parts of the village, as well as the surrounding countryside, has a population of around 1060.[4]

References
  1. Ad van der Meer and Onno Boonstra, Repertorium van Nederlandse gemeenten, KNAW, 2011.
  2. Washington Post Magazine November 11, 2018
  3. Statistics Netherlands (CBS), Bevolkingskernen in Nederland 2001. (Statistics are for the continuous built-up area).
  4. Statistics Netherlands (CBS), Statline: Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2003-2005. As of 1 January 2005.


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