Holland
Oudewater
I (Gerry) was born in Hoenkoop, which was annexed by
Oudewater in 1970. I went to elementary school in Oudewater, and our family did
all our shopping there. Hoenkoop was in essence a suburb of Oudewater all along.
A bit of history...
Where did the name "Oudewater" come from?
"Oudewater" literally means "Old Water." Folklore has it that
the name came in vogue when the land between the rivers Lek and the Hollandse
IJssel was put into production between 1000 to 1100 AD, a settlement sprung up
in the Old Polder/Old Waters area and this settlement got the name Oudewater.
Because of the favourable location along the IJssel and
Linschoten, Oudewater developed into a small trade centre. In 1265 Oudewater
received city rights from the 38th bishop of Utrecht, Hendrik van Vianden.
In the middle ages Oudewater became more and more a border
stronghold because of the many political and military conflicts between Holland
and Utrecht. Therefore Oudewater frequently had to sacrifice blood and property
to keep its freedom.
Oudewater has gone through a lot during its existence. Two
major calamities happened. The first in 1349, when bishop (yes, the church was
into war during those times) Jan van Arkel conquered Oudewater and destroyed the
whole city, except for the church and tower. The second calamity happened on the
7th of August 1575 when Spanish soldiers ran amok after conquering Oudewater.
This destruction is remembered with a painting that still hangs in city hall. In
the middle of the 19th century, the fortifications lost their purpose and were
removed to make place for industry and green spaces.
On July 19, 1572, Oudewater was one of the twelve cities
taking part in the first free convention of the States-General in Dordrecht.
In the 16th and 17th century, Oudewater was an important
producer of rope. In the surrounding area, hemp was cultivated. There still is a
rope manufacturing plant and a rope museum in the town. My dad used to work at
the rope factory, and I can still smell the freshly twined rope.
Arminius
Jacobus Arminius (1559 or 1560 to 1609), Dutch Remonstrant
Reformer, was born Jacob Harmenszoon in Oudewater during the Spanish occupation.
His middle-class family was devastated when his father, a maker of kitchen
utensils, died during Arminius' infancy and his mother, together with all his
siblings, were slain during his adolescence in the Spanish massacre of Oudewater
in 1575. Thereafter family friends raised him. Like most classically trained
humanist scholars of his era, he eventually Latinized his name, recalling the "Arminius"
who had been a first century Germanic leader noted for his resistance to the
Romans.
Photos
Links Oudewater
Links Surrounding Areas
City rights are a medieval phenomenon in the history of the
Low Countries. City rights, which were granted by a landlord, gave settlements
certain privileges that settlements without city rights didn't have.
To stimulate the establishment of cities, landlords started
to grant privileges to settlements around the year 1000 A.D. The total package
of these privileges are the city rights. City rights turned settlements into
interesting locations for merchants. This resulted in economic growth of the
cities. The landlord took profit from this economic growth by means of taxes.
Because the landlord remained in charge of the composition of local government,
he continued to exercise his political influence.
Privileges
-
City walls (the right to erect a defense wall around an
inhabited area)
-
Market right (the right to hold a market and receive income
from the markets)
-
Toll right (the right to charge toll)
-
Mint right
Freedoms
Governance
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