Gouda is a city and municipality in the west of the
Netherlands, between Rotterdam and Utrecht, in the province of South Holland, famous
for its Gouda cheese, stroopwafels, many grachten, smoking pipes, and its
15th-century city hall. Its array of historic churches and other buildings
makes it a very popular day trip destination.
Around the year 1100, 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 the demolition of
Castle Gouda began.
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.
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 did Gouda start 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.
From 1940 on, back-filling of the city moats and
city-canals, the grachten, began. But because of protests from city dwellers
and revised policies of city planners, Gouda did not continue back-filling
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.
After the war, the city started to expand and nearly
tripled in size. New neighbourhoods were built. Over the last years there has
been a shift from expanding the city towards urban renewal and gentrification.
City/town: Gouda
Municipality: Gouda
Area: 18,11 km²
Population: 73.161 (1 January 2019)
Website: gouda.nl
Parcel
point
Primera Herman Kok (since 1 July 2019: Primera Markt)
Markt
68A
2801
JM GOUDA
Date sent: 14 July 2017
Date postmark: 14 July 2017
Date received: 15 July 2017
Number of days: 1
Envelope in collection: 232
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