Winterswijk (in the Lower Saxon Wenters or Wenterswiek) is a village in the eastern part of the Achterhoek in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the headquarters of the same town of Winterswijk. The village has about 24,000 inhabitants and the municipality has about 30000 inhabitants.
Winterswijk had traditionally been a textile industry, which has been established since the 17th century when the St. Michaelsgilde was founded in Winterswijk. With the rise of the steam engine, the Winterswijkse textile industry gained momentum and the number of inhabitants of Winterswijk grew. Winterswijk had seven textile factories at the beginning of the 20th century, including the Batavier and the Tricot factory. Winterswijks most historic street, the Lappenbrink (nowadays Nieuwstraat), has also emerged at this time.
There are several churches in Winterswijk. The most striking is the Jacob church. The Protestant Jacob church on the Winterswijk Market is central to the village. The roads to different neighborhoods of Winterswijk such as Meddo, Woold, Miste come together at the church. In the nearby Misterstraat, the Roman Catholic church of Jacob opened in 1869. Between the two churches, the baptized church dates from 1711. As this was originally a shelter church, this church does not fall into the street scene. A little further from the center, towards the station is the synagogue.
Around Camp Winterswijk there are many campsites. The Scholtenpad is accessible from Winterswijk in four directions. Just outside the center is the Strandbad. To the north of the resort lies the 'Hilgelo' recreation area. An annual recurring event is the folk party with flower corso. Furthermore, music is a popular hobby in Winterswijk. In Winterswijk there are three associations in the highest division of the Netherlands, namely the Royal-recognized Music Association Excelsior, the Royal Winterswijk Orchestra Vereeniging and the Christian Music Association de Eendracht. More than 400 members are currently playing here in a federation.
