| Gouda | ||
 | ||
Coat of arms and flag   | ||
| State | Netherlands | |
|---|---|---|
| Region | South Holland | |
| Territory | Groene Hart | |
| Altitude | 0 m a.s.l. | |
| Surface | 18.11 km² | |
| Inhabitants | 72.825 (2018 estimate) | |
| Name inhabitants | Gouwenaar | |
| Prefix tel | 31 182 | |
| POSTAL CODE | 2800–2809 | |
| Time zone | UTC 1 | |
Position
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| Tourism site | ||
| Institutional website | ||
Gouda is a city of the Netherlands, located in the territory of Groene Hart, part of the province ofSouth Holland.
To know
Gouda is known above all for the dairy industry: Gouda cheese is now making a fine show of itself in all European supermarkets. Every Thursday a traditional cheese market is held in the center, naturally very visited by passing tourists.
Gouda is also famous for its production of candles and artistic ceramics and also for the stroopwafel, (literally "syrup wafer"), typical sweets produced in Gouda since 1784 and made of two thin wafers between which a type of caramel syrup is spread. stroop.
Gouda offers much more: it boasts one of the most beautiful historical centers of the Netherlands. There are many tourists who stop even for a few hours to take a look at its splendid Gothic architecture.
Geographical notes
Gouda is located on the eastern edge of theSouth Holland, close to the border with Utrecht province. While being part of the Randstad conurbation, the largest of the Netherlands, Gouda is immersed in the Groene Hart (Green Heart), a predominantly rural area.
Gouda stands on peat soils that rest on light layers of clay. These soft soils cause numerous subsidence of the buildings, especially the older ones made of brick and sandstone. The maintenance of the historic buildings weighs heavily on the finances of the municipality which has had to resort to long-term state subsidies.
Gouda is located at the confluence of the De Gouwe and Hollandse IJssel rivers. Thanks also to river navigation, the city was prosperous in the Middle Ages. Since 1936 the merchant ships no longer cross the city center. Today the canals are crossed only by pleasure boats that can moor at the small marina south of the center. Small merchant ships were diverted to Queen Julian's locks on the Gouwe.
As for the demographic evolution, Gouda went from 33,257 inhabitants in 1940 to 72,825 registered on May 31, 2018. A percentage of 24% is made up of immigrants from non-European countries. Moroccans alone make up 10% of the total population. There are three mosques in the city: Nour, Assalam and El Fath.
Background
Around 1100, the area where Gouda stands today was an area of swamps and peat bogs crossed by the Gouwe River. Along the banks of this stream, at the point where the market square extends today, there was a peat collection plant. The name of the city is mentioned for the first time in a document of the bishop of Utrecht from 1139.
In the 13th century, the Gouwe was connected to the old Rhine (Oude Rijn) from a series of channels. Gouda Castle was built to protect river navigation. In the 13th century, canals and rivers were a bustle of canals carrying goods from Flanders, from France and from the more distant regions of the Baltic Sea. Gouda prospered and in 1272 obtained the status of a city from the Count of Holland Floris V. New city canals were dug (grachten) to allow for increased river traffic.
In 1572 Gouda was occupied by les Gueux (Dutch: Geuzen, beggars), as the Dutch nobles of Calvinist faith were called who opposed the rule of the Habsburgs of Spain over their lands. They stripped churches, killed Catholic prelates and destroyed buildings such as Gouda Castle.
The handover did not help the city economy which began to falter and collapsed definitively in 1672 following a plague epidemic that decimated the population and the religious wars that ravaged Europe. Except for a brief recovery that coincided with the first half of the 18th century (the Dutch golden age), the recession lasted until the 19th century. Gouda became one of the poorest cities in the country to the point that the local demonym, Gouwenaar became synonymous with beggar.
In Gouda the revival made its appearance from the second half of the nineteenth century. Several production units were installed such as the candle factory Stearine Kaarsenfabriek and that of machinery Machinale Garenspinnerij.
Starting from the second post-war period, the municipality worked hard to fill the ancient canals (grachten) and adapt them to sewers but this senseless activity was interrupted by the protests of citizens organized into committees.
Gouda continued to expand and today its size appears to have tripled compared to the pre-war period. Today's city economy is based on the production of candles, smoking pipes and on the food industry, in particular on the dairy industry.
How to orient yourself
Gouda: full screen map.How to get
On the train
- 1 Gouda station (Station Gouda). Among the numerous intercity buses that stop at the station:
- Those from Rotterdam Central to Groningen with other intermediate stops a Utrecht Central - Amersfoort – Zwolle.
- Those from Rotterdam Central to Leeuwarden.
- Those fromThe Hague Central to Enschede with other intermediate stops ad Utrecht Central - Amersfoort – Deventer – Hengelo –
- From Amsterdam Centrale there is a fast train (sprinter) direct to Rotterdam.
- 2 Goverwelle station (Station Gouda Goverwelle). A secondary station where only fast trains stop (sprinter) coming from Amsterdam Central and directed to Rotterdam and those operating on the line Utrecht Central - Rotterdam Central.
- Other fast trains coming from also terminate at this station The Hague Central and from Rotterdam Central.
How to get around
What see
Civil architectures
- 1 Town Hall (Stadhuis), Markt 1, ☎ 31 182-588482.
€1.50. Palace built between 1448 and 1459 in Flamboyant Gothic and Renaissance style, classified as a national monument. The facade is adorned with statues depicting, among others, Floris V of Holland, Jacoba van Beieren, Philip the Good, Philip the Handsome, Charles the Bad, etc. The eastern side is adorned with a carillon that every half hour puts into action characters who recall the assignment to Gouda of the title of free city by Count Floris V of Holland in 1272. Since 2012 the city council has moved to new palace, allocating this on the market square for ceremonial purposes only and for celebrations of civil weddings.
€1.50. Palace built between 1448 and 1459 in Flamboyant Gothic and Renaissance style, classified as a national monument. The facade is adorned with statues depicting, among others, Floris V of Holland, Jacoba van Beieren, Philip the Good, Philip the Handsome, Charles the Bad, etc. The eastern side is adorned with a carillon that every half hour puts into action characters who recall the assignment to Gouda of the title of free city by Count Floris V of Holland in 1272. Since 2012 the city council has moved to new palace, allocating this on the market square for ceremonial purposes only and for celebrations of civil weddings.- 2 Public weighs (De Waag). The public weighbridge was built in 1668 on a design by Pieter Post, who died a year before the completion of the structure. In the period 1668-1907 the upper floor of the building was used as a weapons room for the militia stationed in Gouda. In the following period it was used as an exhibition space and seat of the local tourist office. Since 1995 de Waag it houses the collections of the cheese museum.
- Originally, all sorts of goods were weighed in the Waag, but with the economic recession that began as early as the seventeenth century, the use was limited to weighing the forms of cheese and the ingredients used to produce it.
- The façade is adorned with a bas-relief with figures gathered in a room and intent on weighing cheeses and taking notes on parchments.
- 3 De Vier Gekroonden, Naaierstraat 6. One of the oldest houses in Gouda.
- 4 Molen 't Slot, Point 17, ☎ 31 182 524655, fax: 31 182 524 655. Mill from 1832 acquired in 1962 by the municipality which restored it between 2003 and 2005.
- Inside are pairs of wind-driven and electrically-driven grain mills. You can visit it when the blades are in operation.
- 5 Molen de Roode Leeuw, Vest 65, ☎ 31 182 522041.
Visits by appointment only. Mill from 1727 restored in 1980 and again in 2012.
Visits by appointment only. Mill from 1727 restored in 1980 and again in 2012.Religious architectures
- 6 Church of San Giovanni (St. Janskerk), Achter de Kerk 16, ☎ 31 182-514119, @[email protected]. The church is dedicated to John the Baptist, the patron saint of Gouda and the works for its construction lasted throughout the fifteenth century. In 1552 a large part of the church was destroyed by a fire. The temple is famous for the precious polychrome stained glass windows made in the years 1555-1571 by the brothers Dirk and Wouter Crabeth.
- After the capture of the city by William the taciturn, an angry mob stormed the church, destroying statues and paintings but left the stained glass windows intact. In 1939 these were removed and hidden in a safe place in anticipation of a German attack.
Museums
- 7 Gouda Museum, Achter de Kerk 14, ☎ 31 182-331000, @[email protected]. Full € 5, free up to the age of 18. This is the civic museum whose collections are housed in the elegant "Arti Legi" building from 1855 which housed the district court on the ground floor (Legi) and upstairs the classrooms of a famous school (Arts) frequented by Erasmus of Rotterdam in the years 1473-1478, who moved here from the premises of the Cellenbroeders convent. On display are 19th-century Dutch paintings, 16th-century altarpieces and collections of pottery. Since 2012 the museum has also been enriched with a model of the city as it appeared in the year 1562. You can also visit the basement where the torture room was.
- 8 Gouda Port Museum (Museumhaven Gouda), Vest 252. Historic merchant ships moored at the river port. They are hulls of different types, mostly from the early 1900s, suitable for navigation on rivers and on the shallow waters of the Zuiderzee and on the muddy ones of the Wadden Sea. They carry the names of "Joyful Arrival", "Johanna", "Regina", "Hope makes Life" and "Friends of Selzaete".
- Each ship is equipped with a panel that informs about the characteristics and techniques and materials used for their construction.
- 9 Resistance Museum (Verzetsmuseum Zuid-Holland), Turfmarkt 30. Museum dedicated to the Dutch resistance against German occupation during World War II.
Events and parties
- Oranjenacht. April. Outdoor musical performances that take place on the eve of Koningsdag (feast of the king).
- Days of Gouda pottery (Goudse Keramiekdagen). May. Fair of artistic ceramics produced in Gouda.
- Gouda by candlelight (Gouda bij kaarslicht). December. On the second or third Friday of December the old town is lit exclusively by candles, a tradition that attracts many visitors from other cities of the gods Netherlands.
What to do
Shopping
- Cheese market (Kaasmarkt). Apr-Aug: Thu 10: 00-13: 00. Today's cheese market is the revival of an ancient tradition resurrected to delight tourists. The cheeses are deposited on the pavement in front of the old weighbridge building.
- For centuries the cheese market has been of vital importance to the city economy. Producers flocked to Gouda from the surrounding countryside in horse-drawn carts, loaded with cheeses weighing 15 kg each. The wheels were inspected, weighed and sold at the de Waag, the public weighing building. In the period between the two world wars, 4.5 million kilos of cheese were sold per year. The market closed its doors in the 1950s with the advent of large-scale industrial production. The cattle market did the same two decades later.
How to have fun
Shows
- 1 Civic theater (Goudse Schouwburg). Theater inaugurated in 1992 with a large hall of 813 seats and another smaller one of 232.
- 2 Filmhuis. Author cinema.
Night clubs
- 3 So What!, Vest 30, ☎ 31 182 519 232. Fri-Sat 21: 00-24: 00, Sun 17: 00-23: 45. A venue on stage where bands of different musical genres and not just Dutch perform.
- 4 StudioGonz, Turfsingel 36, ☎ 31 182 604 954. Another concert hall where pop, rock, etc. singers and bands perform.
Where to eat
Moderate prices
- 1 Bram Ladage, Wijdstraat 24, ☎ 31 0182 523198. Fast food.
- 2 Pizzeria Rome, Lange Tiendeweg 88, ☎ 31 182 528 781. Tue-Sun 16: 00-22: 00. Pizzas and pasta dishes typical of Rome such as spaghetti all 'amatriciana
Average prices
- 3 Brunel, Hoge Gouwe 23, ☎ 31 182 518979. Mains € 21.50. Mon-Sun 17: 00–00: 00. French cuisine restaurant with a covered terrace overlooking the canal. It was obtained from the former fish market.
- 4 Buiten, Oosthaven 23a, ☎ 31 182 524 884. Tue-Sun 17: 00-22: 00.
- 5 De Mallemolen, Oosthaven 72, ☎ 31 182 515 430. Wed-Sun 17: 00–21: 30. French restaurant.
- 6 De Zalm, Markt 34, ☎ 31 182 686 976, @[email protected]. Mon-Sun 09: 00–01: 00. Renowned brewery, the oldest in Gouda in operation since 1551. In 1688, the public weighbridge was built next to the tavern. De Zalm means "the salmon" an effigy of which was put back on the roof in 2006.
- 7 Eetcafe Vidocq, Koster Gijzensteeg 8, ☎ 31 182 522819. Mon-Sun 17: 00-22: 00. Hidden in a small street in the center. the Vidocq is however well known among the residents. The environment is full of atmosphere, similar to a pub. The cuisine is French oriented. The most popular dishes are those of meat flavored with different types of cheese such as entrecôte (sirloin) au gratin and flavored with speck, cherry tomatoes and grated cheese.
- They are also considered a delicacy tournedos (2-3 cm thick slices of meat obtained from the central part of the fillet) with red gorgonzola sauce.
- 8 Grand Café Central, Markt 22-23, ☎ 31 182-512576, @[email protected]. Tue-Sun 09: 00–00: 30. Traditional "Grand Café" from the early 1900s which has retained its original decor and furnishings. It is especially famous for apple pies.
- 9 Koeien en Kaas, Achter de Waag 20, ☎ 31 182-686689, @[email protected]. Mon-Sun 17: 00-00: 00. Renowned restaurant with local cuisine, especially appreciated for the variety of cheese dishes.
- 10 The Cubanita, Jeruzalemstraat 2, ☎ 31 182 670714. Mon-Sun 17: 00-22: 30. Tapas.
- 11 the Divine Corner, Wijdstraat 9-11, ☎ 31 182-524466.
- 12 Pannenkoe Gouda, Karnemelksloot 1, ☎ 31 182 512 115. Mon-Sun 11: 00-20: 30. Specialized in crêpes and pancakes.
- 13 Xochimilco, Wijdstraat 29, ☎ 31 182 523120. €14-20. Tue-Sun 17: 00-23: 00. Mexican restaurant.
