Culemborg (formerly and locally still called Kuilenburg or Kuylenburgh) is a town and municipality in the Neder-Betuwe, in the Dutch province of Gelderland. The municipality has 29,020 inhabitants (1 August 2020, source: CBS) and has an area of 31.23 km² (of which 1.49 km² is water). The hamlet of Goilberdingen is located within the municipal boundaries.
The oldest mention of Culemborg dates from 1281: the place was then called Culenburgh. Over the years, various variants have been used: Kulenborch (1305), Culenborgh (1353), Colemborch (1363), Culemborch (1472). The first part of the name refers to a hole, or a pool of water that was created during a dike breach (comparable to a wheel or gully). The second part refers to the castle that was built around 1270 near the pit. The name Culemborg therefore means' castle at the pit.
Culemborg was originally a trading village, located on the ridge of
the river Meer and the southern bank of the Lek. To the west of it,
the lord of Bosinchem (Beusichem) built a small castle shortly
before 1270. In the 13th century, Jan II, who called himself Lord of
Culemborg, built Castle Culemborg on the north side of the town.
Only the foundations of this castle remain. Just south of the town
was Caetshage Castle.
On "Sente Nycolausdach" in 1318, the
burgesses of the now fortified settlement of their lord, Jan van
Bosinchem, received city rights, including free tolls on the annual
fair and the right of asylum. Culemborg became a Free City, but this
does not mean that everyone could settle freely. The city had its
own jurisdiction. Anyone who had something to their credit had to
appear before bailiff and aldermen and did not escape due
punishment. However, he was given the opportunity to defend himself.
As long as he stayed in Culemborg, his creditor was not allowed into
the city. "Going to Kuilenburg" later came to mean "going bankrupt".
In the 14th century, a city wall and moat were built to keep
irregular gangs and enemy troops out of the city. Twice the city was
expanded beyond the existing walls. Around 1370 on the north side
with a skippers' quarter, the so-called Havendijk and twenty years
later on the south side where the village Lanxmeer was added under
the names Nieuwstad / Nieuwpoort. This created a kind of "tri-city".
The Havendijk and the Nieuwstad were also walled.
The city
owes a lot to the last descendant of the Van Culemborg family. Lady
Elisabeth founded the Elisabeth hospital, a courtyard with houses
for old men and women, and advanced the money for the construction
of the Town Hall and the tower of the St. John's Church. The
Elisabeth Orphanage was built from her inheritance. This orphanage
now serves as a museum and library.
Shortly
before Elisabeth's death in 1555, Emperor Charles V elevated the
manor to a county. Because Elisabeth died childless, Floris van
Pallandt, a grandson of her eldest sister Anna, inherited the
county. Under the influence of his Lutheran wife, Floris soon turned
to Protestantism. Together with William of Orange and Count William
IV van den Bergh, he played an important role in the revolt against
Spanish rule. In 1566 Floris was the first in the Netherlands to
have a Calvinist service, while hedges were still preached
elsewhere. That happened in the wash house of the castle. In this
way he ensured that the new doctrine in Culemborg was for the first
time openly and officially proclaimed in the Netherlands. In
revenge, the Duke of Alva had his castle in Brussels razed to the
ground when the count was in Germany, because he had to come before
the blood council. Floris had given shelter in his Castle in
Brussels to the Nobles of the Covenant who offered supplication to
Margaret of Parma and were received there as Geuzen.
From
1639 to 1714 the county came to the family Waldeck-Eisenberg and
then under the princes of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The German gentlemen
regarded Culemborg as a welcome cash cow. In 1650, opposition to a
taxation by Count Van Waldeck-Pyrmont led to 'the Culemborg women's
revolt' led by the widow Luyt Wortel. In the period 1672-1674
(disaster year), the French largely destroyed the castle, plundered
the library and robbed part of the archive. In the years after 1735
the castle was finally demolished. The last part, the White Tower,
was demolished in 1812. For lack of money, Saxe-Hildburghausen sold
Culemborg with all its high rights and domains for almost one
million guilders to the States of the Quarter of Nijmegen. These
donated the county to Prince William IV in 1748 when he was elevated
to the status of stadtholder. In 1795 the city was occupied by the
French. Three years later, after almost five centuries, the
independence of the state came to an end and it was incorporated
into the Batavian Republic.
After the French period, the city
was incorporated into the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The
Oranje-Nassau family was the last burial house reigning in
Culemborg. That is why the king still holds the secondary title of
Count of Culemborg.
Culemborg was equally world famous when the
Kuilenburgse railway bridge was put into use in 1868; the span of
approximately 154 meters was the longest in the world at the time.
To cross the Lek with the high bridge, a railway embankment had to
be constructed; Culemborg Station came to lie at the bottom of the
slope and therefore a long way outside the city. In the second half
of the 19th century, the construction of the Utrecht - Boxtel
railway line (the now replaced railway bridge from 1868) was an
important stimulus for the industrial development of Culemborg. The
cigar and furniture industry in particular emerged strongly at that
time.
The fireworks disaster in Culemborg took place on
February 14, 1991. A storage room with fireworks from the company MS
Fireworks on the Diedingijk exploded. 2 people were killed (the
owner's daughter and his son-in-law), 20 injured and there was
extensive material damage in the area.
From the 10s of the
21st century, Culemborg on the west side of the city was expanded
with the new residential district of Paris.
The Plantage is the city park of Culemborg. It was designed in 1850 by the landscaper Louis Paul Zocher and laid out in the English landscape style. The original design is still clearly visible because modifications have been limited. The Plantage is a municipal monument. Until about 1950 there was a bandstand in the Plantage that was demolished for unclear reasons at the time. It was rebuilt in 2009/2010 and festively opened on May 5, 2010.
During the turn of the year from 2009 to 2010, disturbances took place in the Culemborg district of Terweijde. The tensions between Moroccan and Moluccan youth that had existed for several months escalated at the aforementioned turn of the year. An emergency ordinance was then in force in Terweijde for a few weeks. An emergency order had been issued for all access roads to Culemborg. Anyone who wanted to enter Culemborg could be preventively searched by the police. The deployment of the Mobile Unit (ME) cost the local police force 1.8 million euros.
Castle garden and
museum De Groene Schuur.
Vishal, Havendijk 6
Elisabeth
Orphanage
Great or St. Barbara Church (Protestant)
Saint
Barbara's Church (Catholic)
Parish of the H.H. Barbara and
Antonius (Old Catholic)
Lanxmeerpoort
Culemborg town hall
Ferryway, marina and ferry
Lanxmeer, Eco-residential area
Church of the Philadelphian Church
Jan van Riebeeckhuis, the
birthplace of Jan van Riebeeck
Werk aan het Spoel, part of the
New Dutch Waterline
Fort Everdingen, part of the New Dutch
Waterline