Laaghalen

Hooghalen is a village in the municipality Midden-Drenthe, in the Dutch province Drenthe. In Drenthe it is also called Hoal'n or Hoalen , but then people often mean the entire area, with the neighborhoods Laaghalen, Laaghalerveen and Oosthalen. It is located on the flank of sandy soils, above a salt dome. The main attraction of Hooghalen is the Herinneringscentrum Kamp Westerbork. Here the history is told of Westerbork Camp and the Jewish persecution in general. The former camp is located on the edge of the southern village Westerbork.

On 22 May 2020, a Sprinter service by the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) running from Zwolle to Groningen, collided with a tractor trying to cross the tracks at a passive railway crossing near Hooghalen on the Meppel–Groningen railway. The train driver was killed instantly, while three people were injured. The driver of the tractor escaped without injuries. According to a subsequent investigation by ProRail, the two drivers did not see each other until a few seconds before the collision. Lack of visibility in poor weather was the main cause of the accident. The crossing where the accident occurred was closed permanently shortly after. The accident led to the fronts of the new Sprinter New Generation trains of NS being re-painted from dark blue to a brighter yellow to increase the visibility of the trains. Additional safety measures were taken at 28 passive railway crossings. The driver of the tractor was put on trial with community service being demanded, but the court did not find him negligent.

Laaghalerveen is a hamlet in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Midden-Drenthe, and lies about 8 km south of Assen.

The Dutch Tourist Trophy, also known as the TT Assen, and also sometimes known as the Dutch Motorcycle Grand Prix, is an annual Dutch motorsport event established in 1925 for road racing motorcycles held on the TT Circuit Assen, also known as the ‘Cathedral of Speed'. The event attained world championship status in 1949 when it was sanctioned by the FIM as part of the inaugural Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship season, making it the oldest event on the MotoGP calendar. The venue holds the record for being the only circuit to have hosted a motorcycle Grand Prix event every year since the series was created in 1949, with the exception of 2020 when the race was cancelled due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The races were traditionally held on the last Saturday of June however, from 2016 onwards it has been held on Sunday of the last weekend of June, bringing it in line with all other MotoGP races. The event is due to take place at the TT Circuit Assen until at least 2026.

The TT Circuit Assen is a motorsport race track built in 1955 and located in Assen, Netherlands. Host of the Dutch TT, it is popularly referred to as "The Cathedral of Speed" by motorcycle racing fans. The venue has the distinction of holding the most Grand Prix motorcycle races every year (except 2020) since the series was created in 1949. It has a capacity of 110,000 spectators, including 60,000 seats. Since 1992, the circuit has also been part of the World SBK calendar except for the 2020 season.

Hijken is a village in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Midden-Drenthe, and lies about 13 km south of Assen, the province capital of Drenthe.

Drenthe (Dutch: [ˈdrɛntə] ) is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of November 2019, Drenthe had a population of 493,449 and a total area of 2,680 km2 (1,030 sq mi). Drenthe has been populated for 15,000 years. The region has subsequently been part of the Episcopal principality of Utrecht, Habsburg Netherlands, Dutch Republic, Batavian Republic, Kingdom of Holland and Kingdom of the Netherlands. Drenthe has been an official province since 1796. The capital and seat of the provincial government is Assen. The King's Commissioner of Drenthe is Jetta Klijnsma. The Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) is the largest party in the States-Provincial, followed by the Labour Party (PvdA) and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). Drenthe is a sparsely populated rural area, unlike many other parts of the Netherlands; except for the small cities of Assen (pop. 67,963) and Emmen (pop. 107,113), the land in Drenthe is mainly used for agriculture and it has a notable amount of forests and nature.

Midden-Drenthe (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌmɪdə(n) ˈdrɛntə] ) is a municipality in the northeastern Netherlands. The municipality was created in 1998, in a merger of the former municipalities of Beilen, Smilde, and Westerbork. Between 1998 and 2000, the name of the municipality was Middenveld.

Graswijk is a hamlet in the Netherlands and is part of the Assen municipality in Drenthe. Graswijk is a statistical entity, but the postal authorities have placed it under Assen. It was first mentioned in the 1850s, and means neighbourhood near grass.

Witten is a hamlet in the Netherlands and is part of the Assen municipality in Drenthe. Witten is a statistical entity, however the postal authority have placed it under Assen. It was first mentioned in 1294 as Withen. The etymology is not clear. In 1815, it became part of the municipality of Assen. In 1840, it was home to 86 people.

De Bonte Wever (formerly De Smelt) is a sports arena located in Assen, Netherlands. De venue opened in the 1970s with a 400-meter speed skating track. Later an ice hockey hall was added. In the early 1990s, the city of Assen became the owner of the sports complex. The speed skating track became semi-indoors and a subtropic swimming pool was added. In 2009 De Smelt was bought by Jan Smit, who changed the name to De Bonte Wever. In 2010 a hotel was built near the complex.

On the morning of Monday March 13, 1978, at 10:15, three South-Moluccans seized the Province Hall in Assen, Netherlands. Some of the people inside escaped by jumping out of the window, including the Queen's Commissioner of the Drenthe province. 16 women and 55 men were taken hostage. Two people were killed.