Page 203 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - The Netherlands

UTRECHT  201

4 Woerden their innocence. Oudewater
was the only place where
Road Map C4. * 34,800. £ @
( Sat am. “witches” could be legally
weighed in public.
Woerden came into being on
the dykes along the Rhine and P Heksenwaag
Lange Linschoten. Granted its Leeuweringerstraat 2. Tel 0348-563400.
town charter in 1372, it has Open Apr–Oct: 11am–5pm Tue–Sun;
been besieged many times but Jun–Aug: daily; Nov–Mar: 11am–5pm
always managed to hold out. Sat & Sun. & 7 ground floor.
Between 1575 and 1576, during ∑ heksenwaag.nl
the Thirty Years War, the
Spaniards tried to conquer 6 Nieuwe Hollandse
Woerden, as did the French in
1672, but neither invader Nesting storks in Oudewater Waterlinie
succeeded in capturing the Road Map C3–C4.
town. Impenetrable kasteel van Utrecht fought fiercely for ∑ hollandsewaterlinie.nl
Woerden (Woerden castle), built Oudewater, which was
between 1405 and 1415, was converted into a border The Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie
extensively restored around 1990. stronghold by Floris V. In 1349, (New Dutch Inundation Line),
In the 18th century, the Oude Oudewater was captured by Jan laid out from 1815 to 1940, is
Hollandse Waterlinie (old van Arkel, the Bishop of Utrecht. comprised of 68 forts and
Holland waterline) – a strip of In 1572, Oudewater sided with public works, from Muiden and
land flooded as a defence line – the Prince of Orange and, as a Naarden in North Holland to
was extended, thereby result, the town was seized in Werkendam in North Brabant.
strengthening Woerden. 1575 by the Spanish. They Utrecht has 27 installations,
exacted a bloody revenge by more than any other province.
burning the town to the ground. The Waterlinie was intended as
5 Oudewater Oudewater flourished again a defence against invading
during Holland’s Golden Age. armies; a wide strip of land
Road Map C4. * 10,000. @
n Leeuweringerstraat 10 (0348- The town’s most famous would simply be flooded.
561628). ( Wed. ∑ oudewater.net attraction is the scales, dating Utrecht’s installations are now
from the 16th century, better being protected, and have
This little town, thanks to its known as the heksenwaag been put forward for UNESCO’s
favourable position on the IJssel (witches’ scales). Women who World Heritage Site register. The
and the Linschoten, became a were suspected of witchcraft original reconnaissance positions
prosperous town early on and, came here to be weighed. If and unimpeded lines of fire will
by 1265, had been granted its their weight and their outward hopefully be preserved. The best
city charter. The counts of appearance tallied, they were installations are at Rijnauwen,
Holland and the bishops of given a certificate as proof of Groenekan en Tull and ’t Waal.

“Bombproof” barracks of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie (Fort Rijnauwen, Bunnik)

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