Anreep, Assen, De Haar, Graswijk, Loon, Rhee, Schieven, Ter Aard, Ubbena, Witten, Zeijerveen, and Zeijerveld.

The history of the capital of Drenthe can be traced back to at least 1258, when a new location had to be found for Marienkamp Abbey, which had originally been built near Coevorden as a penalty for the slaughter in 1227 of the army of the Bishop of Utrecht at the hands of Drenthe's peasants, in what has come to be known as the Battle of Ane – a battle, incidentally, in which the bishop was killed.

A better and especially drier spot for the Cistercian abbey was found in an area known as Witten, where at the time only a few farms were located.

[5][6] The abbey was built at what now is the Brink (i.e., the grassy area which serves as a symbolic municipal centre) of Assen.

On the abbey site now stands the Drents Museum, which was built in 1882 as provinciehuis (i.e., the residence of the provincial government).

Only the abdijkerk (abbey church), the grounds, and bits and pieces of walls remind us of the religious beginnings of the city.

It is just like the coat of arms of the province of Drenthe - in both cases Mary with child - but Jesus switches to the other knee.

A municipal authority which, moreover, in most cases, operated in the shadow of the provincial government, which always manifested itself prominently in the Drentse Haagje.

These contributed to a slow but steady increase of commerce, wealth and new establishments; such a newspaper in 1823, a Latin school in 1825, a postal service on Groningen in 1830, a court in 1840, a first beginning for a garrison in 1852 and a railway station in 1870.

It was originally a centre of civil servants, but the establishment of a slaughterhouse, dairy factory and iron foundry created more diverse expansion opportunities and encouraged growth.

Around 1930, by establishing various psychiatric hospitals and healthcare centres, Assen became a central point for health care in the province.

Around the beginning of the Common Era, this adolescent was strangled with a woolen band which the executioner had wrapped around her neck three times.

She rested in the peat bog near the village of Yde for almost two thousand years, until two workers discovered her in May 1897 - and then ran away in fright.

The city of Assen is home to the Dutch secondary vocational education (MBO) of Drenthe College.