English summary

Small villages in rural areas

The Netherlands has many small villages in rural areas. The villagers use their local village halls, sometimes known as rural community centres, for a wide variety of social activities. Besides being a public meeting place for local groups and organisations, there is room for other important facilities such as a library, a sports hall, a playgroup or a mortuary. These facilities are sometimes combined with outdoor sports facilities, homes for the elderly, primary schools, health care clinics and other commercial facilities.

Village halls

The daily management of these village halls and the way they are used, differ widely, as does the number of village halls in each province. However, they all have one thing in common; they are essential for the services they provide and also, therefore, for the quality of life of the villagers. Thanks to these village halls the villages can function as real communities and together, the hundreds of village halls give a solid base to the social structure of these country areas.

Teams of volunteers in provinces

Each village hall is managed by a team of enthousiastic volunteers. A number of provinces have also set up organisations in order to support these teams. For more information about each individual province, click on the relevant province on the map provided.