Grotegast

Grotegast ( Dutch Grootegast ) - a community and a village (the administrative center of a community) in the north of the Netherlands , in the province of Groningen . The population of Grotegast as of January 1, 2007 was 12,151 people ^[1] .

Community
Grotegast
Grootegast
A country	Netherlands
Included in	Groningen
Adm. Centre	Grotegast
History and Geography
Square	87.78 km²
Height
Timezone
Population
Population	12 129 people ( 2010 )
Density	140 people / km²
Digital identifiers
Postal codes	9820-9823, 9860-9869
Official site

In addition to the village of Grotegast itself, the community includes the following settlements: Duzum, Enumatil, Fan, Kornhorn, Lutiegast, Nikerk, Oldekerk, Openend, Sebaldeburen.

Grotegast is located in the southwest of the province of Groningen, at the border crossing point of the provinces of Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe. “Groot” in Dutch means “large”, and “gast” or “gaast” means “sandy soil” ^[2] .

Among the famous natives of the Grotegast community, Abel Tasman is distinguished from the village of Lütegast, who discovered New Zealand for Europeans in the 17th century ^[2] .

On January 1, 1990, the village of Grotegast was merged with Aldekerk to form a new community called Grotegast. ^[2]