Groessen is a village in the municipality of Duiven, in the Dutch province of Gelderland. The name Groessen is derived from "groeze" or "groes", meaning marsh or grassland. The village is located on a riparian ridge of the Rhine, free from flooding because of its somewhat higher position. It has the structure of a characteristic ribbon village.
The soil in the area around the village consists of well-moisturised calcareous sandy and clay soils. These fertile streamside soils are very suitable for agriculture and horticulture. Near Groessen, archaeological finds have been made from which it can be deduced that there was permanent settlement by farmers and cattle breeders here from about 1700 BC (late Iron Age and Roman period). The present village originated in Carolingian times.
All this points to a long-used site of importance. A place where a chapel, Templar or otherwise, is conceivable. Indeed, a deed from 838 indicates that there was a parish church at this location. The Utrecht bishop Andries van Cuijk elevated Groessen to an independent parish in 1138 (i.e. during the growth period of the Knights Templar). Shortly after that the parish chapel was replaced by a small church on another location, now St Andrew's church. The tufa section of the church tower, built around 1175, remains of this early church, which was much extended and altered later.
The suspicions that the Templars had lodgings or possessions in Groessen is based on several circumstances such as toponyms. Important clues include a plot of 11 morgen and 22 roeden, unusually large for the time, named “Der Tempel” just north of the present day Tempel-farm. Other names in this area seem to refer to Palestine, such as Holy Land and Hof Emmaüs, mentioned in an official atlas from 1735.
Further indication is a story which mentions that pastor Jacob Vallick in his “Ouwe Kerckenboeck” from 1559 described that during the construction of the new rectory (at "wedem" or "weem", which at present is Weemstraat 3), remnants of the foundations of a chapel (perhaps the 9th century chapel?) were found, including a churchyard with sarcophagi in which skeletons lay in armour with swords at their sides. This story was not confirmed by an official excavation in 1981-1982. In addition, it is known that in 1276 the parish priest of Groessen, Steven van den Boetzelaer, gave 38 pennies as a contribution to the crusades, with which the village contributed a relatively large amount to this. All this suggests a direct relationship between Groessen and medieval crusading movement.
Groessen as a possible Templar settlement was given extensive attention by Dr Brus with a publication in the periodical of the Historical Circle Duiven-Groessen-Loo. He considered the toponyms as an indication of Templar presence. He also argued that Groessen played an major role in the long-distance traffic of the time. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the important traffic route from Arnhem to Wesel passed through Groessen. Furthermore, Kerkakkers, on which the farm De Tempel is located at number 27, led in the past to the Leuvense Veer (ferry) across the river Rhine. In the 13th and 14th centuries this was an important river crossing to the Overbetuwe. So important that a river toll was located on the spot, as well as a well-known mooring aand transshipment site.
This combination of circumstances is characteristic of the establishment of a fulcrum of a (military) Order, such as the Templars. From there they could protect the main pilgrim routes and form a network of support points where pilgrims found a safe haven after each day's journey. They also managed places where rivers could be crossed.
In summary, the toponyms, local folklore and the chractaristic details of the location of the site make it likely that there was a settlement of a medieval (knightly) Order, probably the Knights Templar. However, hard evidence is still lacking.
Find all the proven, probable and possible Templar sites defined bij Dr Brus in The Netherlands on this map.
This blog quotes, with permission and some alterations and rearrangements, from the entry on Groessen on the valuable website on the Templars in the Netherlands by Dr Brus. Additional information was derived from Wikipedia, The illustration shows the farm De Tempel, Groessen, a screenshot from Google Maps.
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