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36-685: The former municipality had a population of data missing in 2021, and covered an area of 6.92 km (2.67 sq mi) of which 0.65 km (0.25 sq mi) water. From 2010 to 2014, it was the smallest municipality in the Netherlands in land area, following the merger of Rozenburg into Rotterdam . The first winner of the Dutch version of Pop Idol, Jamai Loman , is from this town. Also Jan-Arie van der Heijden , football player for Feyenoord , lives in Schoonhoven. c.  1220

72-511: A castle was built on the north side of a small stream called "Zevender", near its mouth at the Lek River . The town Schoonhoven was then formed near the castle. The oldest reference to the town is in a document from 1247, where it is referred to as Sconhoven . In 1280, it was granted town rights . Around 1350, walls and gates were constructed around the town. The town's economy depended on shipping, brewing, fishing and agriculture. Schoonhoven

108-539: A celebration of Halloween . Also, Koningsdag and the arrival of Sinterklaas are celebrated each year. Schoonhoven has two main shopping streets with a variety of shops and boutiques. There are several restaurants and bars, as well as a hotel and a discotheque. Schoonhoven lies in the middle of the Dutch Green Heart ( Groene Hart ), which is mostly a rural area with a relatively low population density. It therefore has no railway connection (although there

144-562: A certain degree of independence in their policy decisions. Municipalities are responsible for a wide variety of public services , which include land-use planning , public housing , management and maintenance of local roads, waste management and social security . After the Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010 three special municipalities (officially public bodies ) were formed. These municipalities function

180-537: A density of 6,868/km (17,790/sq mi). As a second level administrative division municipalities are the third tier of public administration in the Netherlands after the central government and the provinces . The Netherlands is a decentralized unitary state , which means that the central government is supreme and delegates certain tasks to lower levels of government by law. The different levels do, however, make work agreements, which give municipalities

216-419: A land area of 7.01 km (2.71 sq mi) and Súdwest-Fryslân the largest with a land area of 522.7 km (201.8 sq mi). Schiermonnikoog is both the least populated, with 972 people, and the least densely populated municipality at 23/km (60/sq mi). Amsterdam has the highest population with 931,298 residents as of January 2024, whereas The Hague is the most densely populated with

252-564: A north-westerly direction, and then eastward since the 1990s. Schoonhoven is known for its silver and therefore carries the nickname: Zilverstad ("Silver Town"). Since the 17th century, silver and gold smiths have been working here. Today, Schoonhoven is still known for its silver. It is the host of "Het Nederlands Zilvermuseum" (the Dutch Silver Museum) and the International Silver School. Schoonhoven

288-520: A relaxing cycling day trip through Schoonhoven's rural surroundings. The town is also popular among Dutch day-trippers and bicycle tourers. The grassy polders of the Krimpenerwaard , Lopikerwaard and Alblasserwaard surrounding the town of Schoonhoven are home to a magnificent variety of birds such as storks. Popular events that take place in Schoonhoven include the annual well-visited Silver day ( Zilverdag ) on Whit Monday and "Spookhoven",

324-410: A time by the crown and the alderman are elected by the municipal council, typically after each municipal election. The mayor is responsible for public order and is the first in command during emergencies, all other tasks are distributed freely between mayor and aldermen. The exact portfolio for each person differs between each municipality. Official municipal boundaries were first drawn up in 1832 in

360-622: A very popular day-trip destination . In the Middle Ages the Van der Goude  [ nl ] family founded a settlement at the location of the current city and built a fortified castle alongside the banks of the Gouwe River , from which the family and the city took their names. Locals long called the settlement Ter Goude , or Tergou or Tergouw  [ nl ] for short. The area, originally marshland , developed over

396-424: Is also known for is its production of clocks. There still is a variety of clock makers in Schoonhoven, some of which can be visited. A beautiful example of a large clockwork is the Van den Gheyn Beiaard in the tower of the medieval town hall of Schoonhoven. The town is a popular stop for inland cruise ships, especially during the summer period. Tourists are often offered a guided tour of the town and its museums, or

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432-509: Is also known for the fabrication of candles, smoking pipes , and stroopwafels . Gouda used to have a considerable linen industry and several beer breweries. Gouda cheese is not made in the city itself, but rather in the surrounding region. It derives its name from being traded in Gouda where the city council imposes stringent quality controls. The economy of the city centre is based on tourism, leisure and retail, while offices are located at

468-405: Is elected every four years. Municipal mergers have reduced the total number of municipalities by two-thirds since the first official boundaries were created in the mid 19th century. Municipalities themselves are informally subdivided into districts and neighbourhoods for administrative and statistical purposes. These municipalities come in a wide range of sizes, Westervoort is the smallest with

504-466: Is the Veerpoort (Ferry Gate) that faces the Lek River . This Veerpoort has protected Schoonhoven from the floods of the river Rhine and from the sea during the devastating North Sea flood of 1953 and is still fully functional as a water barrier today. By 1860, the town had 2900 inhabitants. Not until the middle of the 20th century did the town expand beyond the former fortress limits; firstly in

540-536: The Baltic Sea . In 1272, Floris V, Count of Holland , granted city rights to Gouda, which by then had become an important location. City-canals ( Dutch : grachten ) were dug and served as transport ways through the town. Great fires in 1361 and 1438 destroyed the city. In 1572, the city was occupied by les Gueux (Dutch rebels against the Spanish King) who also committed arson and destruction. In 1577

576-548: The Lek River connects Schoonhoven with Gelkenes in the municipality of Molenwaard . From here, the towns of Gorinchem , Dordrecht and Kinderdijk can each be reached within half an hour. [REDACTED] Schoonhoven travel guide from Wikivoyage List of municipalities of the Netherlands Since 1 January 2023, there have been 342 regular municipalities ( Dutch : gemeenten ) and three special municipalities ( Dutch : bijzondere gemeenten ) in

612-481: The Netherlands . The latter is the status of three of the six island territories that make up the Dutch Caribbean . Municipalities are the second-level administrative division, or public bodies ( Dutch : openbare lichamen ), in the Netherlands and are subdivisions of their respective provinces . Their duties are delegated to them by the central government and they are ruled by a municipal council that

648-646: The 11th and 12th centuries. In 1139, the name Gouda was first mentioned in a document of the Bishop of Utrecht . In the 13th century, the Gouwe was connected to the Oude Rijn (Old Rhine) by means of a canal and its mouth at the Hollandse IJssel was developed into a harbour. Castle Gouda was built to protect this harbour. This shipping route was used for trade between Flanders and France with Holland and

684-540: The 19th century. Gouda was one of the poorest cities in the Netherlands during that period: the terms "Goudaner" and "beggar" were considered synonymous. Starting in 1830, demolition of the city walls began. The last city gate was torn down in 1854. Only from the second half of the 19th century onward did Gouda start to profit from improved economic conditions. New companies, such as Stearine Kaarsenfabriek (Stearine Candle Factory) and Machinale Garenspinnerij (Mechanized Yarn Spinnery), gave impetus to its economy. In 1855,

720-511: The Gouda- Utrecht railway began operations. At the beginning of the 20th century, large-scale development began, extending the city beyond its moats. First the new neighbourhoods Korte Akkeren, Kort Haarlem and Kadebuurt were built, followed by Oosterwei  [ nl ] , Bloemendaal  [ nl ] , Goverwelle  [ nl ] and Westergouwe  [ nl ] after World War II . From 1940 on, back-filling of

756-605: The Netherlands after a cadastre was formed. The Municipalities Act of 1851, written by prime minister Thorbecke , led to the disappearance of small municipalities. Throughout the years, less populous municipalities have been merged . They were either added to the larger neighbouring cities or multiple smaller municipalities merged into a larger new municipality with a new name. The number of municipalities reduced from 1,209 in 1850 to 537 in 2000; since 2024 there have been 342 municipalities. During this time, multiple mergers occurred simultaneously in large parts of individual provinces;

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792-642: The border between the County of Holland and the Bishopric of Utrecht . Following the Disaster Year of 1672 , they were reinforced once again and expanded on the west and north sides. Yet in 1816, when bastion fortifications were no longer relevant to the warfare of the time, they were mostly demolished and made way for a cemetery and a park. Nowadays, most of the town walls and gates too have disappeared. The only remaining medieval entrance gate of Schoonhoven

828-490: The city moats and city-canals, the grachten , began: the Nieuwehaven, Raam, Naaierstraat, and Achter de Vismarkt. However, because of protests from city dwellers and revised policies of city planners, Gouda did not continue back-filling moats and city-canals, now considered historically valuable. In 1944, the railway station was damaged during an Allied bombardment which killed eight and wounded ten persons. This bombardment

864-466: The course of two centuries. By 1225, a canal was linked to the Gouwe and its estuary became a harbour. In 1272 Floris V, Count of Holland granted the city city rights . Around the year 1100, the area of present-day Gouda was swampy and covered with a peat forest, crossed by small creeks such as the Gouwe . Along the shores of this stream near the current market and city hall, peat harvesting began in

900-441: The demolition of Castle Gouda began. 1551 marked the founding of the oldest still-functioning inn, De Zalm , located on Markt 34, near the historic Waag building. In 1574, 1625, 1636, and 1673, Gouda suffered from deadly plague epidemics, of which the last one was the most severe: 2995 persons died, constituting 20% of its population. In the last quarter of the 16th century, Gouda had serious economic problems. It recovered in

936-672: The districts are called Dutch : stadsdelen , as well as Rotterdam , where the districts are called Dutch : deelgemeenten , consist of such formal subdivisions. The Hague , Almere , Breda , Eindhoven , Enschede , Groningen , Nijmegen , Tilburg and Utrecht have instituted Dutch : stadsdelen as well, although they do not have the same legal submunicipal status. For administrative use by municipalities and data collection by Statistics Netherlands all municipalities are subdivided into districts ( Dutch : wijken ), which in turn are subdivided into neighbourhoods ( Dutch : buurten ). These subdivisions have, in contrast to

972-469: The first half of the 17th century and even prospered between 1665 and 1672. However, its economy collapsed again when the Franco-Dutch War broke out in 1672 and the plague decimated the city in 1673, even affecting the pipe industry. After 1700, Gouda enjoyed a period of progress and prosperity until 1730. Then another recession followed, resulting in a long period of decline that lasted well into

1008-466: The municipal boundaries were basically redrawn in these regions. In the 19th and large parts of the 20th century, municipal mergers were forced by the central government. This policy changed in the end of the 20th century; local support for the merger is now a large part of the decision-making process. The larger, merged municipalities are intended to handle an increasing workload because more public services are delegated from higher levels of government to

1044-439: The municipalities. Another reason for municipal mergers is the assumption that larger municipalities are more efficient in performing their tasks than smaller ones. Municipalities have the right to decentralise themselves and form submunicipalities as an additional level of government. This right and the submunicipalities will cease to exist in the near future to reduce the number of levels of government. Only Amsterdam , where

1080-484: The outskirts of the city. Currently, there are over 32,000 jobs in the city, mainly in commercial and healthcare services. Gouda is served by two railway stations, Gouda and Gouda Goverwelle . The main railway station is served by Intercity services to The Hague , Rotterdam , and Utrecht and local trains to Amsterdam and Alphen aan den Rijn / Leiden . The city also lies alongside the A12 and A20 motorways. Gouda

1116-479: The same as regular municipalities and are grouped together as the Caribbean Netherlands and are not part of a province. The municipalities are governed by both a board of mayor and aldermen and a municipal council. The municipal council , which is titled island council in the special municipalities, is elected every four years. The number of members in the council ranges from nine members for

Schoonhoven - Misplaced Pages Continue

1152-414: The smallest municipalities to forty-five members for the largest. It is the highest administrative body in the municipality and controls public policy. The executive power lies with the executive board , which consists of a mayor , titled lieutenant governor in the special municipalities, and multiple aldermen, titled island deputies in the special municipalities. The mayor is appointed for six years at

1188-496: The submunicipalities, no formal status. Gouda, South Holland Gouda ( Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɣʌudaː] ) is a city and municipality in the west of the Netherlands , between Rotterdam and Utrecht , in the province of South Holland . Gouda has a population of 75,000 and is famous for its Gouda cheese , stroopwafels , many grachten , smoking pipes , and its 15th-century city hall . Its array of historic churches and other buildings makes it

1224-644: Was a tram connection with Gouda from 1914 until 1942, when it was broken up by the German Nazi authorities) and lacks a direct connection to a motorway. The town can be reached within half an hour from the major cities of Rotterdam and Utrecht via the N210 road, and from Gouda via the N207. It also has a frequent bus connection (lines 295 and 497) with these cities. Amsterdam is about an hour away by car. A ferry transporting both vehicles and pedestrians across

1260-406: Was also the marketplace for the region. In 1518, the castle burned down and its remnants were removed in subsequent decades. Between 1582 and 1601 the towm's defense walls were renewed and expanded to include the shipyards as well. At this point, the fortifications mainly faced eastward (as can be seen on the 1652 map of Schoonhoven by Joan Blaeu ), because of the historically strategical location on

1296-452: Was intended to destroy the railroad connecting The Hague and Rotterdam to Utrecht. After the war, the city started to expand and nearly tripled in size. New neighbourhoods, such as Gouda-Oost, Bloemendaal and Goverwelle were built. In recent years there has been a shift from expanding the city towards urban renewal and gentrification . Gouda is known for its Gouda cheese , which is still traded on its cheese market, held each Thursday. Gouda

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