Everything about Woerden totally explained
Woerden is a
municipality and a
city in the central
Netherlands. Due to its central location between
Amsterdam,
Rotterdam,
The Hague and
Utrecht, and the fact that it has excellent rail and road connections to those cities, it's a popular town for commuters who work in those cities.
Population centres
General history of Woerden
The river
Oude Rijn used to flow through the city center of Woerden, but in 1960 the old river was diverted around the city center. The city has a long and rich history in
cheese making and trading; for years Gouda cheese for domestic and international use has been produced in this region. Woerden still has his authentic (since 1885) cheese market at the market place in its city center .
Roman castellum
Woerden is situated on the river
Oude Rijn, near the confluence with the former
Linschoten stream. The lower stretch of the Linschoten stream from
Montfoort and
Linschoten to Woerden has silted up a long time ago and its flow diverted through the
Lek and
Hollandse IJssel rivers, but at one time it was an important branch of the
Rhine delta, connecting the
Lower Rhine from
Wijk bij Duurstede to the Oude Rijn near Woerden. Near the former confluence was an area that was slightly more elevated than the surroundings, a
natural levee, which -in an area that's prone to flooding- made it an attractive location for settlement.
Here, at the highest spot, the Romans built a
castellum (
Castellum Laurum), as part of the
limes of the
Roman empire and thus part of the defense lines of the northern border of the Roman Empire. The first castellum was built in the 40s
AD, and was destroyed in 69 AD during the
Batavian rebellion. In 70 AD the castellum was rebuilt, and the Romans remained until 402 AD, with an interruption lasting from about 275-300 AD.
The Castellum was located at the present site of the
medieval Petruschurch and surrounding church yard. During construction work on a new underground parking facility in the city center of Woerden, the remains of numerous old Roman buildings and a Roman cargo ship were found. During field research, a lot became known about the Roman time in Woerden: the location of the castellum, the zone of defense waters with the entrance road and the remains of a
Roman cargo ship (site in Dutch)
.
The dark ages
Little is known about the period after the Romans left for good in 402 AD. It may be assumed that people continued to live here, but there's no archeological evidence. The area was contested between
Frisians and
Franks. Frankish King
Dagobert I conquered the area around 630, and a small church was built in nearby
Utrecht. Around 650 the Frisians came back, destroyed the Frankish church in Utrecht, and the Frisian king established his court there. Then, in 689 king
Redbad was defeated by Frankish
Duke Pippin of Herstal in the battle of
Dorestad and the Franks regained control of the area. King Redbad reconquered Utrecht after Pippin died in 714, but the Frisian victory was shortlived:
Duke Charles Martel defeated Redbad in 718. In 734 Charles Martel went on to vanquish the Frisians, in the
Battle of the Boarn.
The
missionaries followed in the footsteps of the Frankish conquerors: In 695 AD
Willibrord, known as the "Apostle to the
Frisians" became
Bishop of Utrecht, with interruptions due to Frisian incursions.
Boniface worked here from 719-722.
Liudger reports that Boniface preached in
Wyrda, referring to
Wierd, meaning that the place was on higher ground in the area. Around 850 the Bishop had to leave once more, this time because of
Viking marauders. Bishop
Balderik returned to Utrecht in 918, after the Viking threat subsided. The Bishop claims Woerden as part of his jurisdiction: In a list prepared between 918 and 948 it's mentioned that
In UUrdin totum Sancti Martini, meaning: In Woerden everything belongs to Saint Martin, for example the church in Utrecht.
Between Bishop and Count
The Bishop of Utrecht received land grants, first from the Frankish kings, and later from the
Kings of Germany, in particular
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor. In 1024 AD the bishops were made Princes of the
Holy Roman Empire and the new
Prince-bishopric of Utrecht was formed.
Around 1000 AD settlement was limited to the river banks; further inland were undeveloped
bogs. The bishops used their new authority to stimulate
reclamation of this
wilderness.
Concessions were granted to settlers, who
drained the bogs by digging dividing
ditches beginning from rivers and streams and stretching about ¾ mile inland, thus creating the characteristic grid of fields still seen today. By about 1300 AD the reclamation process had been completed. In the mean time a competing realm had developed to the west, along the coast. First known as
West Frisia it became known as
Holland when
Floris II, Count of Holland moved his court to
Leiden in 1101. The
Counts of Holland expanded their influence, and by 1165 they built a fort called Svadeburg, near present day
Zwammerdam, about 7 miles to the west of Woerden. Around 1160
Bishop Godfried van Rhenen built a
castle in Woerden. Once more Woerden became a border town between two belligerent powers, a situation that lasted until 1527 when the
Bishop of Utrecht sold his territories to
Emperor Charles V and the two statelets were united under Charles’ rule. Due to its strategic location on the border between the
County of
Holland and the
Bishopric of
Utrecht, various wars have been fought in and around Woerden by the various lords and ladies of these realms.
From about 1131-1296 the Van Woerden family dominated local affairs in Woerden. Several scions of the family are known as
Herman van Woerden. Originally they were stewards of the castle for the Bishop, but in time they sought to become independent. In 1274
Herman VI van Woerden formed an alliance with
Gijsbrecht IV van Amstel, and revolted against bishop-elect
Jan van Nassau. In 1278
Floris V, Count of Holland intervened on the side of the much weakened bishop, and defeated the rebellious lords. Gijsbrecht was taken prisoner, and Herman went into exile. In 1281 Floris V was awarded the lands of the rebellious lords, including
Amsterdam and Woerden. In a 1288 peace agreement Floris restored the
Lordship of Woerden to Herman van Woerden, but now as a
vassal of the count. However, Herman didn't prove himself to be a trustworthy vassal: in 1296 the humiliated lords Gijsbrecht IV van Amstel and Herman van Woerden entered the scene again as part of a conspiracy. Together with Gerard van Velzen they captured count Floris during a hunting party and the count was assassinated. In the aftermath Gerard van Velzen was killed, and Herman van Woerden went again into exile. In 1300
John II, Count of Holland awarded the Lordship of Woerden to his brother
Guy of Avesnes, who became Bishop of Utrecht the following year. In 1311 Guy returned the Lordship to his nephew,
Count William III, and Woerden remained part of Holland thereafter. Around 1370
bailiff Willem van Naaldwijk ordered the construction of
defensive walls and a
moat to
fortify the city, in order to shield Holland from renewed hostilities with Utrecht. Woerden received
city rights from
Albert I, Duke of Bavaria, and Count of Holland in 1372, even though Woerden was still a small town that harboured no more than about 720 citizens. Around the same time the Petruschurch was built; part of its
steeple still stands. In 1410
John III, Duke of Bavaria-Straubing had the castle of Woerden constructed, and in 1510 the city hall was built. These buildings still exist, although the castle was extensively altered and renovated through the years.
On November 1, 1425 Woerden chose the side of
Philip the Good in the
conflict with
Jacoba van Beieren, after Philip confirmed the
town privileges and promised that the
Lordship of Woerden would never be separated from the
County of Holland by awarding it to someone else. During the reign of the
Dukes of Burgundy,
Philip the Good (1419–1467) and
Charles the Bold (1467–1477) Woerden enjoyed an unprecedented period of peace, and by 1477 its population had almost tripled to about 1920.
Charles the Bold’s death before the gates of
Nancy was the prelude to renewed unrest, both with Utrecht and the duchy of
Guelders, and the town suffered economic hardship because of it.
Heretics and rebels
The reign of
Charles V was a period of relative peace and prosperity for Woerden, despite religious unrest. In April 1522 Charles V introduced the
Inquisition in the
Low Countries.
Johannes Pistorius Woerdensis (
Jan de Bakker), a catholic
priest, was the first
preacher in the Northern Netherlands to be
martyred as a direct result of his religious beliefs. His father was a
sexton in Woerden and also tenant of the
brickworks, and his
surname was derived from that profession.
Jan de Bakker was a pupil of
Johannes Rhodius (Hinne Rode), headmaster of St.
Jerome School of the
Brethren of the Common Life in Utrecht. Rode was a proponent of
Sacramentarianism, and in 1520 his father called Jan back to Woerden, perhaps out of concern about those heretic views. Jan transferred to
Leuven, and in 1522 completed his education there. He returned to Woerden, was
ordained in Utrecht as priest, and assisted his father as
sexton and
deacon.
Jan started to spread the
heretic views, and in May 1523 he and another priest were arrested by the stewart of the castle. After a short while they were released, and it's thought that the two travelled to
Wittenberg, but there's no evidence he met with
Martin Luther. After he returned he continued his preachings, and the conflict with the
Roman Catholic Church was further aggravated by the fact that he broke his
celibacy, and got married. In the night of May 9th, 1525 he was arrested and the next day transferred to
The Hague, where he appeared before the Inquisition. He was
defrocked and sentenced to death, and on September 15 1525
burned at the stake in
The Hague. His widow saved her live by recanting the heresies, and lived out her live in an
abbey.
The city magistrates of Woerden were tolerant towards the Lutheran confession. In 1566 this resulted in a confrontation with duke Eric of Brunswick, who was Lord of Woerden at that time.
Although Eric of Brunswick (1528 - 1584) was raised Lutheran he converted to Catholicism in 1547, much to the regret of his mother
Elisabeth of Brandenburg. Eric served as commanding officer in the armies of
Charles V and
Philip II, and fought on their side in the
Schmalkaldic War (1546-1547) and the
Franco-Habsburg War (1551–1559). During the
Battle of St. Quentin (1557) he distinguished himself by taking
French Marshals
Anne de Montmorency and
Jacques d'Albon de Saint-André prisoner. These prisoners were very important to Philip II as bargaining chip during negotiations for the peace
Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis. In 1558 Philip II granted
Duke Eric of Brunswick the
Lordship of Woerden as compensation, over the objection of the city magistrates of Woerden who felt that this was an infringement of promises made by
Philip the Good in 1425.
In the wake of
iconoclastic riots that swept the country in 1566 a prominent citizen of Woerden, Warnaer Claesz, petitioned the city magistrates to introduce the
Augsburg Confession. There was also a disruption of the church worship. As a precaution the city magistrates removed icons and other valuables from the church and stored them in a safe place, and closed the church. The court of Holland concurred with the actions taken by the city magistrates, but Duke Eric of Brunswick objected. He demanded that the Catholic worship would be restored. The city magistrates delayed by questioning his authority in this matter. Duke Eric responded by raising a small army and forced the city magistrates to comply.
Duke Eric was also instrumental in suppressing the ill-fated rebellion of
Hendrik van Brederode, Lord of
Vianen. After the
rebel army was defeated in the
Battle of Oosterweel (March 13, 1567) Eric of Brunswick captured Vianen on May 5, 1567.
In later history, the town saw occupation by the Spanish (1575, 1576) and the French (1672, 1673 and particularly disastrous in 1813).
Notable people born in Woerden
Jan de Bakker, also known as Jan van Woerden (*1499 †1525) – Protestant martyr
Herman van Swanevelt (1604-1655), painter
Herman de Man (1898-1946) – novelist
Peter Prijdekker (*1948) – freestyle swimmer
Simone Angel (*1971) – TV host and singer
Wesley Koene (*1986) – Famous rapper en painter
Evert Willemsz. Bogaert (latinized name Everardus Bogardus) (*1607 †1647) second ordained minister of the Reformed Dutch Church on Manhattan Island in New Netherland.Further Information
Get more info on 'Woerden'.
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