Ruinerwold

Ruinerwold is a village in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is located in the municipality of De Wolden, about 6 km northeast of Meppel.

History
The village was first mentioned in 1792 as Ruiner wold, and means "woods belonging to Ruinen". Ruinerwold is a road village which developed on a sandy ridge in the 12th century.

The Dutch Reformed church is located in the former hamlet of Blijdenstein which has merged into Ruinerwold. It has been built in the 15th century using material of this predecessor which was built around 1150 and had been damaged by fire. The upper part of the tower was restored after a 1730 fire. Rich farmers formerly lived in Ruinerwold, where they constructed expansive farms with ornate embellishments.

Ruinerwold was home to 1,245 people in 1840. Ruinerwold was a separate municipality until 1998, when it became part of De Wolden.

Hermit family
In October 2019, a 67-year-old man, Gerrit Jan van Dorsten, and his six adult children were discovered, who had lived for nine years in seclusion in a farm house in Ruinerwold. The father was charged with unlawful deprivation of liberty and harming other people's health. The charges were later dropped due to his poor health.