Lost place names: Oranjewoud
Oranjewoud. A name that the inhabitants of Heerenveen certainly know. Does the name have anything to do with the House of Orange? Yes, indeed! Albertine Agnes of Orange-Nassau, widow of William Frederick of Nassau-Dietz, bought an estate in 1676 which she named Oranjewoud. She died there on May 24, 1696.
Oranjewoud is a beautiful nature reserve with many walking and cycling paths. An auxiliary post office named Oranjewoud was also located here. In June 1907, the postmaster was provided with a stamp of the long bar model. He and his successors were very careful with this stamp, as it was not decommissioned until February 1958 and replaced by a new stamp on June 9, 1958.
Again with the name Oranjewoud. But this stamp did not last very long. On October 31, 1970, the auxiliary post office was closed and replaced by a city post agency. This agency also received a stamp, but not with the name Oranjewoud.
The post agency was named Heerenveen-Koningin Julianaweg. And Oranjewoud? This area is now called Parkgebied Oranjewoud. This post agency also ceased to exist, and the stamp was surrendered and destroyed. This is noted on the stamp card of this post agency. The avenues and roads through this area still serve as a reminder of the Royal Family. There is no longer a post office here, but there are still two letterboxes: one on Koningin Julianaweg and one on Prins Bernhardweg. Parkgebied Oranjewoud is, or is becoming, a protected village landscape. Will a post office ever return here?
Oranjewoud is listed on the AEX
I have fond childhood memories of Oranjewoud. I used to go there with my grandparents because there was a beautiful playground. I don't know if it's still there. So now it's called 'Oranjewoud Park Area'. Pfff.
In terms of the postmark, Oranjewoud is indeed a lost place name, but the village itself definitely still exists, with a genuine village council and Village Vision, etc. What is special about this case is that usually, when a place name on the stamp changes, the place is also considered postally dissolved, meaning it no longer has its own postcode (with the corresponding place name) but is considered part of a larger neighboring town. However, Oranjewoud does have its own postcode (8453) and corresponding postal place name. So, I didn't rest until I had figured out, based on this article, why Oranjewoud seemed to have become Heerenveen in 1970. Well, it turns out: due to the construction of the A32 and a road that preceded it, a western part of Oranjewoud ended up lying west of that road, thereby separating it from the rest of the village. Heerenveen then 'conveniently' added that part to the town of Heerenveen for postal addresses as well. Oranjewoud is still not amused about that. One of the wishes in their Village Vision is that they want that part of their village to fall under Oranjewoud again for postal addresses as well. And that name Park Area turns out to refer only to the forest area east of the village. It is certainly confusing. By the way, it seems that playground is still there, Robert. And JHA Oranjewoud is indeed the headquarters of the well-known engineering firm, which, just like the auxiliary office, suddenly ended up situated 'in' Heerenveen due to the border correction. If you zoom in on the Google Maps map at http://www.plaatsengids.nl/oranjewoud a few times, you can see that the Koningin Julianaweg is now partly in Heerenveen, west of the A32. So that is where the small post office must have stood.