Dronten

Dronten
Dronten
	Municipality
	Dronten bell tower
; Flag	; Coat of arms
	Location in Flevoland; Location in Flevoland
	Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Country	Netherlands
Province	Flevoland
Established	1 January 1972
Government
• Body	Municipal council
• Mayor	Aat de Jonge (CDA)
Area
• Total	423.89 km2 (163.66 sq mi)
• Land	333.89 km2 (128.92 sq mi)
• Water	90.00 km2 (34.75 sq mi)
Elevation	−2 m (−7 ft)
Population (May 2014)
• Total	40,363
• Density	121/km2 (310/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Drontenaar
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postcode	8250–8259
Area code	0321
Website	www.dronten.nl

Dronten (<phonos file="255 Dronten.ogg">pronunciation</phonos>) is a municipality and a town in the central Netherlands, in the province of Flevoland. It had population of 40,363 in 2014.

History

Plans for the municipality of Dronten were made in the early half of the 1950s; real plans for the town of Dronten (the municipality's center) were revealed in 1958.

The foundations for the town were laid in 1960. Right from the start there was a discussion whether Dronten was to become a town or a city. The first plans assumed 15,000 inhabitants, while later plans foresaw a growth to 30,000 inhabitants. The first plans for the municipality assumed ten smaller villages situated around the central town (in this case Dronten). The number of villages was reduced due to increased traffic and experiences gained in developing the Noordoostpolder, where a similar municipality had already been built. Eventually it was decided there were to be two smaller villages (Biddinghuizen and Swifterbant) and one larger town (Dronten).

On 1 January 1972 Dronten was given its official name.

In 1995, Dronten hosted in Biddinghuizen the 18th World Scout Jamboree. 28,960 Scouts and staff members from 166 countries and territories participated this event.