Dutch Topographic map of Tiel (town), as of March 2014
Tiel (Dutch pronunciation:[til]ⓘ) is a municipality and a town in the middle of the Netherlands. The town is enclosed by the Waal river and the Linge river to the South and the North, and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal to the East. Tiel comprises the population centres Kapel-Avezaath, Tiel and Wadenoijen. The city was founded in the 5th century CE.
Tiel is the largest town in the Betuwe area, which is famous for being one of the centres of Dutch fruit production. Orchards in the area produce apples, pears, plums and cherries. Tiel once housed the famous jam factory De Betuwe. After production was moved to Breda in 1993, the entire complex was demolished, although a part was reconstructed later. Reminding of this industry is a jam manufacturing museum and a statue of Flipje, the raspberry-based comic figure who starred in De Betuwe's, jam factory advertisements since the 1930s.
Originally located on the Linge river Tiel became an important centre of trade in the early Middle Ages, especially after the demise of Dorestad in the 9th century. Tiel had two big churches, one of which, the St. Walburg, was a collegiate church that belonged to the Teutonic Knights and vanished after the Reformation while the other church, the St. Maarten, became Protestant. Much of the historic centre was destroyed during the Second World War.
Every year, on the third Saturday in September, a festival known as Fruitcorso is held to celebrate the fruit harvest from the Betuwe area. On this day, a parade of wagons, decorated with fruit, travels through the city. Appelpop is a free, two-day music event that is held yearly on the second Friday and Saturday of September.
Tiel has also been known for its pewter industry. The last pewter factory and museum, which mainly produced collectibles for tourists, went bankrupt in early 2004, but has since been revived.
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