was surrounded by swamp and bog. There was only one road to Vriezenveen and it was guarded by troops of the Dutch States Army. However, there was a harsh winter in the year 1666, which froze the moors and the surrounding swamp. The road to Vriezenveen lay open and in January 1666, 1500 riders of the bishop's army rode into Vriezenveen. The village was looted and the houses and the church were set on fire. A large number of people were killed and the rest were taken as prisoners. The new Vriezenveen was not rebuilt on the Buterweg, along which it had previously lain. It was instead rebuilt on a sandy road to the north, the present village street. This rebuilding took place at a rapid pace and at the beginning of the 18th century the old Vriezenveen on the Buterweg was a thing of the past. Only the old cemetery of this old Vriezenveen has been preserved. The village is now characterised by a 6.2-kilometer long built-up village street (from west to east: Hammerweg, Westeinde and Oosteinde) with characteristic facades on the houses. The special Engbertsdijksvenen, a partly still living biodiverse raised bog complex with its rare flora and fauna, is a reminder of what the area looked like, before the intensive colonisation of the area by the lord of Almelo and his subjects was set in motion. Religion During the Reformation, which also permeated Twente, most of the Vriezenveners "switched" to Protestantism. In the 19th century the conservative orthodox Calvinist Protestants became the majority. A Vriezenvener, Jan Machiel Krijger, (1874–1951) took part as a party leader in the 1946 Dutch parliamentary elections on behalf of the Protestant Union. The former CHU member obtained 32,020 votes. To this day most Vriezenveners are either Dutch Reformed or Reformed; to be seen in the support of the SGP and the predecessors of the ChristenUnie; the RPF and the GPV. However, a strong Catholic minority remained on the eastern side of the village. This Roman Catholic community was able to inaugurate its own parish church in the early 20th century. The church and parish are dedicated to the Roman Catholic saint Anthony the Great. Until the Second World War, there was a Jewish community in Vriezenveen. In 1878, the Vriezenveen synagogue, Mikdash Me'at (small shrine), was built, after the King's commissioner P.C. Nahuijs, by Royal Decree of December 2, 1876, granted a