Wijk bij Duurstede is a fortified city and municipality in the south of the Dutch province of Utrecht. The municipality has 23,901 inhabitants (1 August 2020, source: CBS) on an area of 50.3 km², of which 2.68 km² is water. The waterways Nederrijn, Lek, Kromme Rijn and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal flow through and along Wijk bij Duurstede. The municipality is adjacent to the municipalities of Houten, Bunnik, Utrechtse Heuvelrug, Culemborg and Buren. Wijk bij Duurstede was twinned with Jičín (Czech Republic).
Various explanations are given for the name part District, such as that it could be traced back to the Roman vicus, or the Germanic wik, which means "bend" or "inlet". The name part Duurstede can be traced back to the former trading place Dorestad, which name is at least partly of Celtic origin.
During Roman times, a Roman castellum, possibly
Levefanum, was located on the site of what is now Wijk bij Duurstede
aan de Rijn. The northern border (limes) of the Roman Empire also
ran straight through Wijk bij Duurstede.
In the early Middle
Ages, one of the most important trading places in northwestern
Europe was located here: Dorestad. For a long time it has been
believed that Dorestad fell around 850 due to Viking attacks. In the
meantime, however, it is seriously taken into account that natural
and (church) political factors, together with the shifting power
relations, probably played a more important role. The Rhine bed
would have moved a bit, the harbor would also have started to silt
up at that time and in addition there was a rise in water. The
decline of Dorestad meant a period of prosperity for Tiel, Deventer
and later Utrecht. Many finds have been made in and around Wijk bij
Duurstede from these historical periods, which can be seen in Museum
Dorestad.
Wijk bij Duurstede received city rights from
Gijsbrecht van Abcoude in 1300. It was built on a residential tower
built in 1270 that would grow into Duurstede castle. It is likely
that shortly afterwards work began on the construction of an earthen
wall and moat in order to defend the city, partly using the old
river beds for the moat.
In the middle of the 14th century
the city was expanded in an easterly direction and probably in the
same period the city was provided with a city wall that was equipped
with city gates and fortification towers. The city wall and moat
were renovated around 1445.
The municipality of Wijk bij Duurstede has a rural location above the major rivers in the middle of the Netherlands. It is located at the junction of the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal with the Lek and the junction of the Nederrijn in the Lek and the Kromme Rijn.
The municipality consists of the town of Wijk bij Duurstede (18,215
inhabitants) and was merged on 1 January 1996 with the municipalities of
Cothen (3,275 inhabitants) and Langbroek (2,430 inhabitants).
For
the district division, see districts and neighborhoods in Wijk bij
Duurstede.
Sint Jan de Doperkerk on the Markt in the old city center, medieval
pseudo-basilica with a late Gothic tower that would have three sections,
following the example of the Utrecht Domtoren, of which, however, only
the lower and a small part of the middle one have been completed. The
church owns the Kiespenning organ from 1631 and the Harrison & Harrison
organ from 1883. In the South transept there is a small organ by the
organ builders Van Vulpen, the case was made by Friedrichs.
Roman
Catholic Sint Johannes de Doperkerk on Klooster Leuterstraat in the old
city centre, neo-Gothic pseudo-basilica designed by the master builder
Wolter te Riele, realized in 1907 by renovating a simple church building
from the mid-19th century, hereafter rebuilt several times.
Duurstede Castle
castle Groenesteyn
Castle Hindersteyn
Castle Leeuwenburg
Castle Lunenburg
Castle Rhijnestein
Castle
Sandenburg
Walenburg Castle
Castle Weerdesteyn
Zuilenburg
castle
corn mill Oog in 't Zeil (Cothen)
corn mill Rhine and Lek
(District near Duurstede)
Museum Dorestad
Blues Pub Crawl (Bluesin District)
Colorful out in Wijk
Pure
Wijks
Leak days
Mazijk doll
Catch Up Festival
Bread and
games
Christmas at Duurstede
Wine at Duurstede
Dance Behind The
Wall
Sunday afternoon concerts in the Grote Kerk
Evensongs in the
Grote Kerk
Maleborduur Bock beer festival
Recreation areas
Recreation area 'values of Gravenbol'
Distances
Utrecht 22km
Amersfoort 23 km
Amsterdam 64km
Provincial roads
N227 (direction Amersfoort), from Cothen
N229
(direction Utrecht, A12 and Tiel)
Waterways
Wijk bij Duurstede
has a harbour. It is on the following waterways:
Lower Rhine
Leak
Amsterdam-Rhine Canal
Curved Rhine
Public transport
The
buses depart from the Wijkse Busstation.
U-link 41 (regular
connection to and from Utrecht Central Station)
Bus 56 (regular
connection to and from Amersfoort via Zeist)
Bus 695 (rush
hour/school bus to and from Maarsbergen)
Ferry services
Ferry
Spes Futura van het Wijkse Veer sails on the river Lek and connects Wijk
bij Duurstede with Rijswijk (Gelderland).
Ferry Spes Salutis of the
Beusichemse Veer sails on the river Lek and connects Wijk bij Duurstede
with Beusichem.
Wijk bij Duurstede has a football club (CDW) and a hockey club
(Dorsteti). There are also associations for judo, karate, tennis,
basketball, badminton, volleyball, baseball and korfball.
In 1955
the Dutch road cycling championship was held in Wijk bij Duurstede,
Thijs Roks then became Dutch champion.
Born in Wijk bij Duurstede
Dirck van Baburen (ca. 1595-1624),
painter
Willem Verbeek (1820-1888), general practitioner and
editor-in-chief of chess magazine Sissa
Dirk Fock (1858-1941),
politician
Gijsbertus Vonk (1889-1969), politician
Rie Lips-Odinot
(1908-1998), Member of Parliament for the CPN
Everhardus Jacobus
Ariëns (1918-2002), professor of pharmacology
Jochem Royaards
(1943-2012), actor and director
Joost van Ginkel (1971), film
director and screenwriter
Bert Slagter (1982), writer
Born
elsewhere
Jordaan Everhard van Rheden (1822-1890), teacher and
amateur photographer.
W.G. van de Hulst jr. (1917-2006), painter,
sculptor, illustrator and children's book author
Wim Peters
(1921-2019), journalist and mayor
Jaap Bethlem (1924-2017), professor
Karel Prior (1924-1997), radio presenter, television director and
producer
Anton Houtsma (1938-2014), politician and mayor
Irene van
Lippe-Biesterfeld (1939), princess. She lived part of the year in this
city until 2015.
Jelles Bode (1942-2012), police officer and traffic
jam reader
Sis van Rossem (1945-2022), art historian, columnist and
presenter
Leo van Veen (1946), football player and football manager
Stef Stokhof de Jong (1950), sculptor, glass artist and textile artist
Peter R. de Vries (1956-2021), crime journalist
Sierd de Vos (1959),
football commentator
Eric Balemans (1961-2021), politician
Joshua
Douglas (1977), children's author
Wouter Hamel (1977), jazz singer
Peter Kuipers Munneke (1980), weather forecaster
Nikkie Plessen
(1985), presenter, actress and model
Mohamed El Makrini (1987),
professional football player
Laura Dekker (1995), solo sailor