Gouda's 15th Century Town Hall
Gouda's Cheese Market
(; population 71,797 in 2004) is a city and municipality in the western
Netherlands, in the province of
South Holland. Gouda, which was granted
city rights in 1272, is famous for its
Gouda cheese,
smoking pipes and its 15th century city hall.
The town takes its name from the Van der Goude family, who built a fortified
castle alongside the banks of the
Gouwe River, from which the family took its name. The area, originally
marshland, developed over the course of two centuries. By 1225, a canal was linked to the Gouwe and its estuary was transformed into a harbour. Gouda's array of historic churches and other buildings makes it a very popular day trip destination.
History
Around the year 1000, the area where Gouda now is located was swampy and covered with a peat forest, crossed by small creeks such as the
Gouwe. Along the shores of this stream near the current market and city hall,
peat harvesting began in the 11th and 12th centuries. In 1139, the name
Gouda is first mentioned in a statement from the
Bishop of Utrecht.
In the 13th century, the Gouwe was connected to the
Oude Rijn (Old Rhine) by means of a canal and its mouth at the
Hollandse IJssel was developed into a harbour. Castle Gouda was built to protect this harbour. This shipping route was used for trade between
Flanders and
France with
Holland and the
Baltic Sea. In 1272,
Floris V, Count of Holland, granted
city rights to Gouda, which by then had become an important location. City-canals or
grachten were dug and served as transport ways through the town.
Great fires in 1361 and 1438 destroyed the city. In 1572, the city was occupied by
Les Gueux (Dutch rebels against the Spanish King) who also committed arson and destruction. In 1577 demolition of Castle Gouda began.
In 1574, 1625, 1636, and 1673, Gouda suffered from deadly Plague epidemics, of which the last one was the most severe: 2995 persons died, constituting 20% of its population .
In the last quarter of the 16th century, Gouda had serious economic problems. It recovered in the first half of the 17th century and even prospered between 1665 and 1672. But its economy collapsed again when war broke out in 1672 and the plague decimated the city in 1673, even affecting the pipe industry. After 1700, Gouda enjoyed a period of progress and prosperity until 1730. Then another recession followed, resulting in a long period of decline that lasted well into the 19th century . Gouda was one of the poorest cities in the country during that period: the terms "Goudaner" and "beggar" were considered synonymous.
Starting in 1830, demolition of the city walls began. The last city gate was torn down in 1854. Only from the second half of the 19th century onward, Gouda started to profit from an improved economic condition. New companies, such as
Stearine Kaarsenfabriek (Stearine Candle Factory) and
Machinale Garenspinnerij (Mechanized Yarn Spinnery), acted as the impetus to its economy. In 1855, the railway Gouda-
Utrecht began to operate. In the beginning of the 20th century, large scale development began, extending the city beyond its moats. First the new neighbourhoods Korte Akkeren, Kort Haarlem and Kadebuurt were built, followed by Oosterwei, Bloemendaal, and Goverwelle after World War II.
From 1940 on, backfilling of the city moats and city-canals, the
grachten, began: the Nieuwe Haven, Raam, Naaierstraat, and Achter de Vismarkt. But because of protests from city dwellers and revised policies of city planners, Gouda did not continue backfilling moats and city-canals, now considered historically valuable. In 1944, the railway station was damaged during an Allied bombardment, killing 8 and wounding 10 persons. This bombardment was intended to destroy the railroad connecting The Hague and Rotterdam to Utrecht. Since 1977, the weekly
pig market, the largest in the Netherlands, is no longer held in the city.
Economy
Gouda is world famous for its
Gouda cheese, which still is traded on its cheese market held each Thursday. It is further well-known for the fabrication of candles,
smoking pipes, and
syrup waffles. Gouda used to have a considerable
linen industry and a number of beer breweries.
Gouda cheese is not really made in the city itself but in the surrounding region. Yet it gets its name from being traded in Gouda where the city council imposed stringent quality controls.
Attractions
The Waag (Scale Building).
- Old City Hall at the market - built between 1448 and 1450, one of the oldest Gothic city halls in the Netherlands.
- The Waag (weigh house) - built in 1667 across from the Old City Hall, this building was used for weighing goods to levy taxes. It now is a national monument.
- Grote of St. Jans Kerk (Great or Saint John Church) - largest cross-shaped church in the Netherlands, famed for its stained glass which was made between 1530 and 1603, considered the most significant stained glass collection in the Netherlands . Even in the 17th century, it was already a tourist attraction.
- Waaiersluis (Waaier Locks) - a historic lock on the Hollandse IJssel just east of Gouda.
- Museumhaven Gouda (Harbour Museum Gouda)
- Other museums: Museum Gouda (history museum), Museum De Verborgen Tijd (modern art), Museum De Moriaan (national pharmaceutical museum), and Verzets Museum (about the Dutch resistance during World War II).
Transportation
Gouda is served by two railway stations:
Gouda,
Gouda Goverwelle. The city also lies alongside the
A12 motorway.
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Natives of Gouda
- Desiderius Erasmus (1466 - 1536), philosopher, humanist (though Erasmus de Roterodamus is usually thought to be born in Rotterdam)
- Ed de Goey (born 1966), former goalkeeper from the Dutch national soccer team
