Winschoten (Dutch: [ˈʋɪnsxoːtə(n)] ⓘ; Gronings: Winschoot) is a city with a population of 18,518 in the municipality of Oldambt in the northeast of the Netherlands.
In the province of Groningen, it is the second-largest shopping destination and it attracts many consumers from nearby Germany.
Winschoten is located at 53°9′N 7°2′E / 53.150°N 7.033°E / 53.150; 7.033 (53.15, 7.03) in the municipality of Oldambt, in the east of the province of Groningen, and in the northeast of the Netherlands.
It is situated east of Groningen, Hoogezand, and Veendam, north of Stadskanaal, south of Delfzijl, and west of Leer and Papenburg (both in Germany).
They form an important feature of the townscape and are well cared for by the local authorities for the benefit of the community and visitors.
The unusual design of the sails with movable blades, akin to venetian blinds was in advance for its time.
Traditionally Dutch windmills have tarpaulin covering the sails to control or catch the wind's power.
Molen Edens, at Nassaustraat 14, was built in 1763 on the instructions of Jurrien Balles and Antje Gerbrands.
The oldest church dates back to the 13th century in style mingling Roman and Gothic features.
It is a neo-gothic church with stained glass windows by Kocken and a sandstone high altar from Freitag in Münster.
A monument to one of these plate lickers stands on the Oldambt Square, in front of an area where the theatre 'De Klinker', built on the site of a former brick factory, used to be.
The official language is Dutch, but many Winschoters especially of older generations speak the local dialect called Gronings.
The Winschoter version of the dialect Gronings has influences of Hebrew and Yiddish as a consequence of the once prominent Jewish community that had lived there since the 18th century.