Ommen - History - The Emergence of Ommen

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, but there seems to have been hardly any cultivation or permanent settlement during this period.

The Vecht (sometimes called the Overijsselse Vecht, to avoid confusion with its namesake in Utrecht) and Regge rivers determined the first settlements in the area that is now the municipality of Ommen. Most of the Salland region was marshy but the higher banks along the Vecht and Regge provided fertile soil for agriculture. Moreover, good roads were rare, so for trade, transport and travel the rivers provided a vital infrastructure. The first sporadic agricultural settlements in Salland therefore arose along the riverbanks of the Vecht and the Regge. Indeed, all early population centres in the current municipality of Ommen were originally built on riverbanks — with the exception of the town of Lemele, which was situated on the lower slopes of the Lemelerberg, free from flooding by the Regge.

The location of Ommen itself proved particularly suitable for settlement — not only because of the fertile river soil and the higher ground of the river dune (even today the church square is visibly higher than the streets to its east and south), but also because of the ford in the Vecht facilitating trade routes between the Frisian north and Twente to the south. Archeological discoveries indicate that the first settlement at Ommen emerged during the 8th century AD, and by the end of the 11th century a veritable town had developed — among the first in Overijssel. 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.