Bellingwolde

Bellingwolde lies on the border of the sandy soils of Westerwolde and the clay of the Dollard polders. In the Middle Ages, Bellingwolde had a central management function in the Westerwolde area. Bellingwolde has several interesting monuments that demonstrate the rich history of the village, such as the court house from the 17th century, the area's centre of justice until 1811. The Magnus Church was built at the beginning of the 16th century. The tower dates from 1720.In the 19th century the farmers in the area became very wealthy, because grain prices were very high between 1850 and 1875. Arable farmers started to specialise and large-scale farms arose. The large number of magnificent farmhouses in the village are witness to the prosperity of the farmers of those days .The village is home to the Oude Wolden museum, that has a collection of local history and visual art, including the De Ploeg artists' collective and magical realist Lodewijk Bruckman