Overview
’t Centrum in Bredevoort is one of the few youth centres in the municipality of Aalten to have survived the turn of the century. On Saturday 23 November 2019, ’t Centrum celebrated its 50th anniversary.
JC ’t Centrum was founded in 1969 by the Dutch Reformed Youth Council and, more than half a century later, is still based on the same upper floor of the Koppelhuis on the Markt. It is now an independent foundation, with no administrative ties to the church. Traditionally, ’t Centrum was regarded as the more respectable counterpart to the notorious Et in Terra in Koppelstraat.
The 1970s and 1980s were the youth centre’s heyday. ‘They were sometimes hanging out of the windows.’ On some evenings as many as forty crates of beer were consumed. Boys often outnumbered girls, but girls were recruited with flyers handed out at the domestic science school. At that time groups of young people also came from Aalten to ’t Centrum, whereas today most visitors come from Bredevoort itself.