Opijnen

It was first mentioned in 1265 as Opynen, and means upstream as compared to Neerijnen.^[4] The village developed parallel to the Waal as a stretched out esdorp.^[5] In 1265, Opijnen became the property of Raoul de Châtillon, a French nobleman who had fled to Gelre after a dispute with the King of France. A castle was built near the village, however it disappeared in the 16th century.^[5] The Dutch Reformed Church was built in 1860 and the tower dates from 1925.^[5] In 1840, Opijnen was home to 333 people.^[6]

Opijnen is home to the graves of eight American airmen who were shot down on 30 July 1943, and killed while returning to England from a bombing raid over Kassel, Germany. The village honoured the airmen by burying them in their cemetery. From that time and for seventy-five years afterwards, the village honoured these men annually with a formal church service and then a laying of flowers on the graves. In 2006, the village opened a housing complex with eighty-six units. The airmen were further honoured by having the streets in that housing complex named after them.^[7]

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  Dutch Reformed Church
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  Bridges over the Waal
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  Dike house
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  House in Opijnen