Tholen is a city on the island of Tholen, in the municipality of
Tholen, in the east of the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is located
on the west side of the Scheldt-Rhine Canal, which forms the border
with the province of Noord-Brabant.
Tholen was an independent
municipality until 1971 and had 8,050 inhabitants on January 1,
2020. The place was created in the 13th century at a toll at the
Eendracht and acquired city rights in 1366. The city is called
Tholen because a toll could be levied.
Initially there was a toll at Schakerloo for shipping
on the Striene. Count Willem I had a toll built on the dyke of the
Fifteen Hundred Measured Polder for shipping on the Eendracht, which
took over the role of waterway. A settlement arose around it, which
in 1290 was itself free of tolls. This developed into the town of
Tholen, which was granted city rights around 1366. Fishing and salt
works were the main sources of livelihood here.
In 1452 the
city was ravaged by a large city fire. In the 16th century, Tholen
was confronted with various floods. In the last decades of the 16th
century there were religious disputes. Around 1577, the city of
Tholen proceeded to the Reformation and came under State authority.
In the meantime, the Eighty Years' War had broken out. From 1603,
the city was fortified with walls and bastions, and the city became
part of the Line of the Eendracht, aimed against Spain. The fortress
also served in later wars, but it was closed in 1814. In 1825 the
old harbor was filled in and a new harbor was built. A new fishing
port was opened in 1908.
In 1928 a bridge over the Eendracht
was put into use to replace the ferry service. In the 70s of the
20th century, the Scheldt-Rhine connection was constructed by the
Eendracht. A new, higher bridge was constructed over this in 1971.
Tholen has a historic city center, which is still
largely surrounded by walls and vests. The city center is also
partly bordered by a harbor. The area within the fortresses has been
a protected cityscape since 1991, making it one of the protected
city and village views in Zeeland. Furthermore, the city has dozens
of national monuments.
The cityscape is dominated by the
Grote or Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk, a cross basilica in the Brabantine
Gothic style, possibly designed by Everaert Spoorwater, a Brussels
master builder who was often involved in the construction of
churches in this style in the Netherlands. Construction of the
church started in about 1404. On the site of the current nave, the
church had a predecessor of unknown construction date that was
demolished around 1360. The tower is 49 meters high and the base is
a pure square of 8.50 meters. The radiating chapels of the choir
have never been finished, but the foundations have been laid and a
wall extension is visible on the outside of the north choir. A
striking detail: the outer columns of the choir church were
therefore once built as inner columns.
A striking building is the
former town hall of Tholen from the 15th century, which was designed
by members of the famous Keldermans family of architects. In this
town hall hangs the oldest carillon clock in the Netherlands, also
from the 15th century.
The cityscape is further determined by two
windmills within the city center, De Hoop, which is built on one of
the walls, and the De Verwachting windmill, which was completely
restored in 2009.
A historic building is also the rebuilt
Gasthuiskapel.
On the Markt is the Roman Catholic Church of Our
Lady of the Assumption from the early 20th century.
There are a
number of interesting houses in the historic city center. One of the
oldest is De Twee Stoven at Stoofstraat 5-7, built in 1622. Also at
Markt, Kerkstraat, Bakstraat, Brugstraat and Hoogstraat are some old
houses, which sometimes have a stepped gable.
A former salt shack
is located at Contre Escarpe 1. Salt was extracted here until 1901.
The ramparts of Tholen