Gouda is a city and municipality in the east of the province of
South Holland in the Netherlands with 73,540 inhabitants (1 August
2020, source: CBS) on a territory of 16.92 km².
The city is
located in Central Holland and in the urban area of the Randstad,
roughly equidistant from Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague. Gouda has
a regional function within the Green Heart, where it is the largest
city in terms of inhabitants and the second largest municipality
(after Alphen aan den Rijn). Measured by population, it is the 48th
municipality of the Netherlands and the 12th municipality of South
Holland.
Gouda is located at the confluence of the rivers
Gouwe and Hollandse IJssel. Partly thanks to inland shipping on
these rivers, Gouda grew into an important city in the Middle Ages.
In 1272 the city was granted city rights and by the end of the
Middle Ages Gouda had become the fifth city in Holland. A large
number of historical and monumental buildings can still be found in
the city center, of which the City Hall and St. John's Church are
probably the most famous. The city is also known for its Gouda
cheese, which is traded in the summer on the Thursday tourist cheese
market. Finally, Gouda is known for the manufacture of candles,
pipes, Gouda pottery, stroopwafels and the annual Candle Evening.
Gouda has long been referred to under other names such as
Golde, Die Goude, Ter Goude and Tergouw, all referring to the river
Gouwe. The Gouwe was first mentioned in a charter in 1139, under the
Latin name Golda. This talked about 'new reclamations at the Gouwe':
nove culture juxta Goldam. A charter from 1178 speaks of terram
quandam juxta Goldam, 'certain land on the Gouwe'.
There are
various theories about the origin of the name Gouwe, but none of
them is conclusive. The name could be derived from the general name
'shire (e)' for a river with a road along it. According to another
theory, the name would refer to the golden glow that the water of
the Gouwe, once a peat flow, had. 'Golda' could have originated from
the Germanic 'gulda' (gold) + 'ahwõ' (natural watercourse in sea
clay area). This glow was then caused by the peat that was visible
through the clear water.
The hitherto usual name Golde was
transformed into Goude or Ter Goude in the Middle Ages. In medieval
Latin texts the name was written as Gouda, which could mean both the
river and the city. Partly thanks to humanists and historiography,
the Latin name was eventually able to replace the name form 'Ter
Goude', which was still in use for a long time. Nowadays, Gouda is
the only city in the Netherlands that is referred to both officially
and popularly by the Latin name form.
Despite the large
number of products strongly associated with Gouda, the city does not
have a well-known nickname. Sometimes people talk about the Cheese
City, referring to the Gouda cheese, but this nickname is not only
reserved for Gouda. Another nickname is the Gouwestad, after the
river to which Gouda owes its name and existence. This name is
reflected in the name of the regional television channel RTV
Gouwestad. Waddinxveen, which lies northwest of Gouda and is also
located along the Gouwe, is sometimes referred to as the Gouwedorp.
Gouwenaars are also called Kaaskoppen, a mockery that is also
used for locals and Dutch people in general. This name may have
originated in Stolwijk and would not have been derived from the
cheese itself, but from cheese vats that were made by so-called head
turners. In conflict, these cheese barrels were put on the head as a
helmet.
Around the year 1000 the area where Gouda
is now situated was swampy and covered with a swamp forest,
containing small rivers, such as the Gouwe. In the 11th and 12th
centuries, peat extraction started to the east and west of the city
and along the banks of the Gouwe. In 1143, the name Gouda was first
mentioned in a charter of the count of Holland.
In the 13th
century the river Gouwe was connected by a canal with the Oude Rijn
and the mouth in the Hollandse IJssel was expanded into a harbor.
The castle of Gouda was built on the outskirts of the city in the
14th century to protect the harbor. These developments created a
shipping route, which was used for trade between Flanders and France
with Holland and the Baltic Sea area. In 1272, Count Floris V
granted city rights to Gouda, which had meanwhile become an
important place.
In 1361 and 1438, city fires caused great
damage in the city. In the city fire of 1438, only four houses would
have been spared. After the conquest of Gouda by the Geuzen on June
21, 1572, the castle of Gouda was demolished in 1577, in order not
to let it fall into the hands of the Spaniards in the event of a
possible reconquest. However, the question is whether this was the
actual reason for the demolition, or whether the Gouda population
took up the war to get rid of the castle and its owner. The final
demolition of the castle was not completed until 1808, when the
Chartertoren was demolished. Even before the castle was completely
demolished, a mill was erected on the foundation of the castle near
the former courtyard. After this mill burnt down in 1831, it was
replaced a year later by the mill 't Slot, which is still standing.
In the last quarter of the 16th century, Gouda had serious
economic problems. In the first half of the 17th century the city
recovered and between 1665 and 1672 the city even experienced a time
of great progress and prosperity. However, when the Dutch War broke
out in the disaster year 1672, the city experienced another economic
downturn. Although the economy rebounded once more after 1700, the
decline would eventually last well into the 19th century. In 1673
Gouda was hit by the plague for the fourth and worst time. The
epidemic took the lives of 2,995 people, about 20% of the
population. In addition, Gouda had to deal with rebellious farmers
from the area, who occupied the town hall for 24 hours in June 1672.
In the 19th century, the city walls of Gouda were demolished; the
last city gate was demolished in 1854. During this period Gouda also
had to deal with cholera epidemics, the first outbreak was a fact in
1832. Partly thanks to the construction of a sewage system and a
water supply network, the disease was managed at the end of the 19th
century to reduce. Around the same time, Gouda also finally started
to benefit from the better economic climate. Companies such as the
Stearine Candle Factory and the Goudsche Machinale Garenspinnerij
played an important part in this. In 1855 the Gouda station was put
into use on the new Utrecht - Rotterdam railway line. Fifteen years
later, the rail connection with The Hague also followed. In the
early 20th century, the city began to expand beyond the canals. The
districts of Korte Akkeren, Kort Haarlem and Kadebuurt were built in
the first half of this century.
During the Second World War,
Gouda was the target of bombing raids by the Allies several times.
In 1941, the Noothoven van Goorstraat, Fluwelensingel and the
Krugerlaan were hit. In 1944, among other things, the Vest was hit
and the dyke of the Nieuwe Gouwe was damaged. The station was hit
twice during bombing raids in November 1944. In total, 45 people
were killed in the bombing raids in Gouda. 328 of the Gouda Jews
were murdered during the occupation, only 40 survived the Holocaust.
After the occupation, Gouda expanded further and the
neighborhoods Oosterwei, Bloemendaal and Goverwelle were realized.
In 1940, with the filling in of the Nieuwehaven, a start was made on
closing the canals in the city center. After the Second World War,
the Raam, the Nonnenwater, the Naaierstraat and the Achter de
Vismarkt were also filled in. Partly due to the protests from the
bourgeoisie and the changed views of urban planners, the filling in
of the historically valuable city canals was not continued. In 1977
the weekly pig market, the largest in the Netherlands, disappeared
from the city. The weekly cheese market on Thursday was maintained
only as a tourist phenomenon. The current main station was built in
1984, but the area around the station, the Spoorzone, is being
renovated in 2015. After the realization of Goverwelle in the
eighties and nineties, the city also expanded again with the
district, Westergouwe.
Part of Gouda is a protected cityscape. It has a historic center
with some well-known buildings and a canal system. This canal system
was more extensive in the past, but between the 1930s and the 1960s,
part of the canals were filled in for economic reasons. Around 2007
there were voices to dig open a number of these filled-in canals
again, but whether this will actually happen is uncertain. In a more
distant past, the city also had defenses, a number of city gates and
even a castle, but little of this can be seen. Nevertheless, Gouda
still has a total of 330 national monuments, of which the old town
hall and the Sint-Janskerk are probably the best known. The top of
the Gouwekerk is the highest point in the city at 80 meters.
The Markt is the center of the historic city center. In the middle
of this fan-shaped central square is the old town hall on the Markt.
The town hall, built from natural stone after the last major city
fire between 1448 and 1450, is one of the oldest Gothic town halls
in the Netherlands. The town hall is decorated on several sides with
old statues and reliefs. To the side of the building is a more
recent chime that rings every half hour and shows a short spectacle
symbolizing the acquisition of city rights. Also on the Markt is the
17th-century Waag. This building was built in 1668 to a design by
architect Pieter Post and for a long time had an important function
as a weighing place for cheeses. The VVV used to be located in this
cheese weighing house, later the Cheese and Crafts Museum was
established in the building. The rest of the market is mainly
occupied by historic buildings, which house restaurants, cafes and
shops.
South of the Markt is the Grote or Sint-Janskerk. At
123 meters, the building is the longest church building in the
Netherlands and is best known for its stained glass windows, also
known as the "Goudse Glass". The gothic cross church is in the Top
100 of the National Agency for the Preservation of Monuments.
Southeast of the Sint-Janskerk are also the Willem Vroesenhuis, the
former Orphanage and the Jerusalem Chapel. South of the church, the
former hospital and present city museum Catharina Gasthuis is
located on the street Achter de Kerk. The entrance to the museum
garden is formed by the Lazarus gate, which contains a relief by
sculptor Gregorius Cool.
A narrow canal runs along the street
Achter de Kerk. This continues underneath the buildings and then
ends at the Gouwe and the Haven. Thanks to the shipping industry in
the past, a large number of monumental buildings can be found in
these streets. For example, on both sides of the Gouwe are the
'Visbank' and the 'Korenbeurs', both of which functioned as a fish
market. On the side of the Gouwe where the Korenbeurs is also
located, called the Hoge Gouwe, is also the 20th-century
Sint-Jozefkerk or Gouwekerk. This neo-Gothic cross church was built
in 1904 and its partially open spire is the highest point of both
the historic center and the entire city. The Hoge and Lage Gouwe
still house a few churches. Halfway the Hoge Gouwe is the church
building of the old Catholic parish of St. Jan Baptist, acquired by
pastor Petrus Purmerent as a hidden church. In the period from 1630
to 1661 Purmerent bought various houses on the Gouwe and the Raam,
in 1684 this complex was expanded by Jacob Catz. The renovation of
this church was completed in the following years by pastor Ignatius
Walvis. On the corner of Hoge Gouwe and Keizerstraat was the former
secret church of the Remonstrant congregation, now only the portal
building remains of the newly built church. Also on the Hoge Gouwe,
opposite the Turfmarkt, is the entrance to the Christian Reformed
church, built in 1928, behind a house. On the corner of Lage Gouwe
and Lange Groenendaal is the 15th-century St. Josse Chapel, at the
former St. Josse Hospital of the pocket carriers' guild. This chapel
has been used by the Evangelical Lutheran congregation since 1683.
The Turfmarkt is, just like the Gouwe and the Haven, one of the
larger canals with various monumental buildings on either side. On
the north side are the Turfmarktkerk and the Libertum (former
Resistance Museum Zuid-Holland) in a former bank building. On the
other side is the former synagogue, now a church building of the
Free Evangelical Congregation. Both the synagogue and Libertum are
protected as national monuments. Another noteworthy building is
located at Naaierstraat 6. This building is a late Gothic house
better known as The Four Crowned, after the frieze of the same name
on the facade. The building is, like the Sint Janskerk, on the Top
100 of the National Agency for the Preservation of Monuments.
Like some other historic Dutch cities, Gouda also has a number of
courtyards. The city had 21 courtyards in 1750, but some of these
have since been demolished. Courtyards consisted of a collection of
small houses around a communal courtyard and served as shelter for
the elderly or the poor. At the Nieuwehaven there are two of these
courtyards, both dating from the 17th century: the Hofje van Cincq
and the Hofje van Letmaet. Another courtyard is Swanenburgh's
courtyard on the Groeneweg on the other side of the city center.
There is a network of locks both inside and outside the center.
In the past, Gouda owed an important part of its economic prosperity
to its location and locks. The route that the water travels through
the city center between the Hollandse IJssel and the Gouwe even has
the longest lock in Europe. The Waaiersluis and Julianasluis are
also located in the Hollandse IJssel. The Mallegat lock forms the
connection between the Hollandse IJssel and the Turfsingel. At the
end of the Oost- and Westhaven you will find Het Tolhuis and the
associated lockkeeper's house near the harbor lock, which is now
closed. Here the ships sailed from the direction of Rotterdam into
the city through the always present lock gates.
There are
also four windmills in Gouda: the Roode Leeuw, 't Slot, the
Haastrechtse Molen and the Mallemolen, which was restored in 2010.
In the past, Gouda has counted a total of more than twenty mills, of
which now only the four mentioned mills remained. South of the city
center, between the Schielands Hoge Zeedijk and the Hollandse
IJssel, the 19th century Water Tower is located. Finally, Gouda has
four cemeteries, the largest of which is the Crematorium and
Cemetery IJsselhof. The Jewish cemetery, the Old Cemetery and the
Roman Catholic Cemetery Gouda are all smaller in size and date from
the 19th century.
Gouda has several museums.
Museum Gouda is a museum with altarpieces from the 16th century,
19th century paintings from the Arntzenius collection (The Hague
School and the Barbizon School) and an extensive collection of Gouda
pottery. Since 2012, Museum Gouda has also had a city model on which
Gouda was accurately reconstructed in the year 1562 on a scale of 1
to 350. The monumental building also houses an old city pharmacy,
the surgeon's guild room and a cellar with torture instruments.
Besides Museum Gouda there are other museums in the city. In
Museumhaven Gouda are inhabited monumental ships, Libertum (formerly
Resistance Museum Zuid-Holland) at the Turfmarkt is a museum about
the South Holland resistance in the Second World War and the Waag
aan de Markt is home to the Gouda Cheese and Crafts Museum. The
National Pharmaceutical Museum, which was closed in 2011, was
located on the Westhaven, in the 'De Moriaan' building.
Various statues, sculptures, war memorials and
other objects can be admired not only in the Gouda museums, but also
in the public space, both classical works of art - including a
number of statues from the 17th century - and modern works. In the
Houtmansplantsoen there are monuments to the brothers Cornelis and
Frederik de Houtman and to former mayor Van Bergen IJzendoorn from
the 19th century. Art from the 20th century is widely spread
throughout the city: in the southern part of the city - the city
center - 33 objects, in the eastern part of the city 21 objects, in
the western part of the city 16 objects and in the northern part of
the city 25 objects.
Statues that have been in Gouda since
the 17th century are, for example, the depiction of the likeness of
the rich man and the poor Lazarus on the Lazarus gate from 1609, by
Gregorius Cool, who also created the steps of the town hall a few
years earlier, including the images of the Bag carriers. The
entrance gate to the Willem Vroesenhuis, also by Cool, on
Spieringstraat and the marble work Bartholomeus Eggers's weighing
company on the Markt also date from the 17th century, 1614 and 1668
respectively. There are also works of more recent date. Since 1988,
De Kaasboerin (De Kaasboerin) has been standing on the Nieuwe Markt,
a bronze sculpture by the Stolwijk-based visual artist Ineke van
Dijk that depicts a farmer's wife with a Gouda cheese clutching her.
In the nineties of the 20th century, sculptures by eleven visual
artists, the Gouda Sculpture Route, were placed along the canals of
Gouda. This project was realized in part thanks to a bequest from
Mrs. James-Van der Hoop, wife of the former mayor of Gouda, Karel
Frederik Otto James.
The most famous writers who have lived in Gouda are
the humanists Desiderius Erasmus and Dirck Volkertsz. Coornhert.
Erasmus was probably not born in Gouda, but attended parish school
there in his youth and later spent a few years in the nearby
monastery in Stein; Coornhert spent his last years in the city,
where many of his works were printed by Jasper Tournay, who lived
there. In the 19th century, Anna Barbara van Meerten-Schilperoort
was described by Multatuli as an important writer. The writer Herman
de Man, writer of regional novels, lived in Gouda for several years
in the 20th century. His novel Shipyard De Kroonprinces is set in
Gouda.
Father Ignatius Walvis, although not born in Gouda,
played an important role in Gouda historiography as a chronicler. In
1713 his Beschryving der stad Gouda was published, which is still an
important source for historians. The patriot Cornelis Johan de Lange
van Wijngaerden also described the history of the city in History of
Heeren and description of the city of van der Gouda. Walvis en de
Lange are considered to be the founders of modern Gouda
historiography.
In the field of poetry, Gouda has also
produced a number of famous people. In the past, these included
Florentius Schoonhoven and later Hieronymus van Alphen. In the 20th
and 21st century Leo Vroman has also gained national and
international fame. The phenomenon of city poet has been known in
Gouda since 2003. The first city poet at the time was Inez Meter,
the current city poet is Ruud Broekhuizen.
The largest cinema in Gouda is Cinema Gouda on Burgemeester
Jamessingel (at the northern exit of the station). Previously, the
Arcade Cinema was the largest cinema in Gouda, located in the old
barracks on Agnietenstraat. The Filmhuis Gouda is also located in
the Korte Akkeren district, where mainly arthouse films are
screened. In addition, Gouda has a theater called De Goudse
Schouwburg, just outside the city center on the Boelekade. The
building was inaugurated in 1992 and has two rooms. In early 2012,
this theater was named Theater of the Year 2011.
Gouda does
not have a large concert hall. There are, however, two music venues:
core puppet stage So What !, located on the Vest, and pop venue
StudioGonz (Formerly De Gonz), a hall in the Garenspinnerij on the
Turfsingel. Furthermore, a number of events are organized in the
field of music. During the summer months, concerts are given every
Sunday in the Houtmansplantsoen. Spieringpop is a pop festival for
bands from Gouda and the region and is held in September. In the
same month, the jazz festival Yes Gouda Jazz is also organized.
In Gouda, two of the five barrel organs that have the status of
protected cultural property in the Netherlands play: De Pansfluiter
and De Lekkerkerker.
Various events take place in
Gouda every year. For example, there is the Orange Night, in the
evening and night before King's Day. In the past, De Dijk, Di-rect,
Milk Inc., Yes-R, Belle Pérez and Lange Frans & Baas B have
performed here. The Gouda Ceramics Days take place in May, where
ceramists exhibit their work and exhibitions can also be visited.
Another annual event is the weekly tourist Cheese and Crafts Market
in the summer months, where the famous Gouda cheese is traded. The
cheese market is surrounded by the weekly market and stalls with
artisan workers, who show how clogs, buttermilk and candles were
made in the past. In the summer, the multi-day event Goudse
Havenstaddagen and the curio market Gouds Montmartre also take
place. Furthermore, concerts are given in the Houtmansplantsoen in
the summer. The fair usually takes place in September.
On the
second or third Friday of December is "Gouda by candlelight", the
so-called candle evening. The city center is completely lit with
candles, a tradition that attracts many visitors to Gouda every
year. Then, in December and January, there is "Gouda by artificial
light", during which, among other things, the town hall is decorated
with changing light projections by the artist Patrice Warrener.
Artfully edited photos of the facade are projected onto the same
facade using a special chromolithe technique. Visitors can also
enjoy themselves in the winter months on an ice rink on the Markt.