Ottersum
village in Gennep, Netherlands
Ottersum is a village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is a part of the municipality of Gennep, and lies about 17 km southeast of Nijmegen.
History
The village was first mentioned in 1349-1362 as Oitershem and means "house of Oter (person)". Ottersum developed along the Niers in the Early Middle Ages. It used to be part of the Duchy of Cleves and in 1815 became part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The Catholic John the Baptist Church is a three-aisled basilica-like church which was built between 1930 and 1931. The former monastery Maria Roepaan was built by the Sisters of Divine Providence from Münster during the Kulturkampf. A school and orphanage were added to complex. The building was damaged in 1945, and restored in 1949. Since 1995, it used for corporate events.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Ottersum” as village in Gennep, Netherlands. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as village in Gennep, Netherlands. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2189395. VIAF identifies the subject as 139546749. The Library of Congress control number is n79137388. Authority coordinates are 51.704, 5.984. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1349, 1362, 1815 and 1930.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Ottersum”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Ottersum primary sources, Ottersum archive and Ottersum research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Ottersum”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Ottersum” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.