Witveen, a hamlet in the Dutch province of Friesland, the seat of a Mennonite congregation now called Rottevalle. The congregation at Wit­veen was probably founded ca. 1620, when the peat fens (Dutch, veen) in this area were broken up. The first peat diggers were mostly Mennonites; at first meetings were held in a peat digger's hut, but in 1671 a plain meetinghouse was erected, which was considerably remodeled and enlarged in 1712. This church had some windows painted with Bible texts and the names of members of the congrega­tion, presumably those who had financed this church. In 1714 Witveen joined the Mennonite con­ference of Friesland (FDS). It then numbered about 60 baptized members, 108 in 1751, and 120 in 1760. At this time some of the members lived at neighboring Rottevalle, and the congregation, at first also called Witveen and Oostermeer, was then mostly called Witveen and Rottevalle, or even Rotte­valle and Witveen. More and more Rottevalle be­came the center of the congregation, particularly after a meetinghouse was built here ca. 1770. In 1810 only a small part of the membership lived at Wit­veen, and in 1830 the Witveen church was put out of use. For further history of the congregation see Rottevalle.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 969. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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