Tiel (Dutch pronunciation:[til]^ⓘ) is amunicipality and a town in the middle of theNetherlands. The town is enclosed by theWaal river and theLinge river to the South and the North, and theAmsterdam-Rhine Canal to the East. Tiel comprises the population centresKapel-Avezaath, Tiel andWadenoijen. The city was founded in the 5th century CE.

Tiel
Municipality
Fortified dyke in Tiel
Flag Coat of arms
Location in Gelderland
Tiel Location within the Netherlands Show map of Netherlands Tiel Location within Europe Show map of Europe
Coordinates:51°53′N5°26′E / 51.883°N 5.433°E /51.883; 5.433
Country	Netherlands
Province	Gelderland
Government [1]
• Body	Municipal council
• Mayor	Frank van der Meijden (CDA)
Area [2]
• Total	35.51 km2 (13.71 sq mi)
• Land	32.88 km2 (12.70 sq mi)
• Water	2.63 km2 (1.02 sq mi)
Elevation [3]	7 m (23 ft)
Population  (January 2021)[4]
• Total	41,920
• Density	1,275/km2 (3,300/sq mi)
Demonym	Tielenaar
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode	4000–4007, 4013–4014, 4017, 4062
Area code	0344
Website	www.tiel.nl

Tiel is the largest town in theBetuwe area, which is famous for being one of the centres of Dutch fruit production. Orchards in the area produceapples,pears,plums andcherries. Tiel once housed the famousjam factoryDe Betuwe. After production was moved toBreda in 1993, the entire complex was demolished, although a part was reconstructed later. Reminding of this industry is a jam manufacturing museum and a statue ofFlipje, the raspberry-based comic figure who starred in De Betuwe's, jam factory advertisements since the 1930s.

Originally located on theLinge river Tiel became an important centre of trade in the early Middle Ages, especially after the demise ofDorestad in the 9th century. Tiel had two big churches, one of which, the St. Walburg, was acollegiate church that belonged to theTeutonic Knights and vanished after the Reformation while the other church, the St. Maarten, became Protestant. Much of the historic centre was destroyed during theSecond World War.

Every year, on the third Saturday in September, a festival known asFruitcorso is held to celebrate the fruit harvest from the Betuwe area. On this day, a parade of wagons, decorated with fruit, travels through the city.Appelpop is a free, two-day music event that is held yearly on the second Friday and Saturday of September.

Tiel has also been known for itspewter industry. The last pewter factory and museum, which mainly produced collectibles for tourists, went bankrupt in early 2004, but has since been revived.

Roman artifacts (Rings,statues, grave stones etc) have been found in Tiel.^[5]

The"Stonehenge of the Netherlands" is an ancient site that is over 4,000 years old.^[6] The structure shows a similarity toStonehenge in southernEngland; so it was dubbed "Stonehenge of the Netherlands" by the local media.^[7][8]

It was used as aburial mound and for religious practices.^[9] It is located inTiel, Netherlands, and itsexcavation started in 2017.^[10][11] According to the town's website, this was the first such discovery in the Netherlands.^[12][13][14]

The mound contained remains of around 60 individuals.^[15] Three mounds were discovered; the main one is about 20 metres (65 ft) in diameter. Its passages align with the sun at equinoxes and solstices, and according to thearcheologists it served as asolar calendar.^[16][17][18]

Around one million objects, dating from theStone Age,Bronze Age,Iron Age,Roman Empire and throughout theMiddle Ages, have been found. The oldestartifacts can be traced back to2500 BCE.^[19][20][21]

One of the most interesting finds was a glass bead which is the oldest ever discovered in theNetherlands.^[22] The archeologists think it originated inMesopotamia, modern dayIraq.^[23] The group assumes that the Bronze Age inhabitants of this area had contact with groups more than 3,000 miles away.^[24][25][26]

The archaeologists also discovered offerings like animalskeletons, humanskulls andbronze spearheads.^[27][28][29]

• Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol (1741–1784) statesman, active in theBatavian Republic
• David Hendrik Chassé (1765–1849) soldier who fought both for and against Napoleon
• Theodoor Gerard van Lidth de Jeude (1788–1863) physician, veterinarian and zoologist
• Antonie Frederik Jan Floris Jacob van Omphal (1788–1863)lieutenant-general and extraordinary aide-de-camp toWilliam III of the Netherlands
• Cornelis Pijnacker Hordijk (1847–1908) jurist and politician,Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies 1888/1893
• William Hendriksen (1900–1982) New Testament scholar and writer of Bible commentaries
• Marinus van IJzendoorn (born 1952) human development professor, co-leader ofGeneration R

• Annie Foore (1847–1890) writer who lived inDutch East Indies
• Mary Dresselhuys (1907–2004) stage actress
• Eylem Aladogan (born 1975) installation artist and sculptor
• Frans Duijts (born 1979) singer
• Abdellah Dami (born 1982) journalist, presenter and writer
• Corrie van Binsbergen (born 1957) jazzmusician and composer

• Herman Claudius van Riemsdijk (born 1948) chess player
• Jan van Deinsen (born 1953) football player
• Nico Rienks (born 1962) rower, two-time gold medallist at the1988 and1996 Summer Olympics
• Anton Janssen (born 1963) football player
• Wilma van Velsen (born 1964) swimmer and team bronze and silver medallist in the1980 and1984 Summer Olympics
• Dirk Jan Derksen (born 1972) football player
• Bobbie Traksel (born 1981) racing cyclist
• Erik Pieters (born 1988) football player
• Barry Maguire (born 1989) football player
• Mattijs Branderhorst (born 1993) football player

•  
  Statue of Flipje in Tiel
•  
  Tiel, church: Sint Maartenskerk
•  
  Town gate: Waterpoort
•  
  Tiel,Appelpop on the Waalkade, Tiel
•  
  Jewish Monument, Tiel

•   Media related toTiel at Wikimedia Commons
•  Tiel travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Official website