Klundert is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in the Dutch province of

North Brabant North Brabant ( ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, Dutch Brabant or Hollandic Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to ...

. It is located close to the

Hollands Diep The Hollands Diep ( pre-1947 spelling: Hollandsch Diep) is a river in the Netherlands, and an estuary of the Rhine and Meuse rivers. Through the Scheldt-Rhine Canal it connects to the Scheldt river and Antwerp. The Bergse Maas river and the N ...

, about 3 km northwest of Zevenbergen. It received

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

in 1357.

History

The current name was first mentioned in 1537 as "die clunder", and means piece of clay. The settlement started around 1250 as Die Overdraghe. In 1357, it received city rights as the capital of the ''

heerlijkheid A ''heerlijkheid'' (a Dutch language, Dutch word; pl. ''heerlijkheden''; also called ''heerschap''; Latin: ''Dominium'') was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and Judiciary, judicial unit in rural areas in the Dutch-speaking ...

'' Niervaert. The city was destroyed in 1421 by the St. Elizabeth's flood. A new settlement appeared around 1558. Klundert was fortified in 1581. In 1793, Klundert was conquered by the French. Klundert was home to 1,180 people in 1840. The city was severely damaged during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The Catholic St John, the Baptist church was built between 1889 and 1890. It was damaged in 1944, and during the restoration of 1946/1947, it was decided not to rebuild the tower. The Dutch Reformed church was built in 1952 to replace the medieval church which was destroyed in 1944. During the

North Sea flood of 1953 The 1953 North Sea flood () was a major flood caused by a heavy storm surge that struck the Netherlands, north-west Belgium, England and Scotland. Most sea defences facing the surge were overwhelmed, resulting in extensive flooding. The ...

, 90% of the buildings were under water, and 17 citizens died. Klundert was a separate municipality until 1997, when it became a part of

Moerdijk Moerdijk () is a municipality and a town in the South of the Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. History The municipality of Moerdijk was founded in 1997 following the merger of the municipalities of Fijnaart en Heijningen, Klunde ...

Gallery

Klundert, de Johannes de Doperkerk foto6 2015-05-24 18.10.jpg, Klundert, church File:Botte Kreek P1170391.jpg, Former bath house Botte Kreek File:Klundert vesting 20040517.jpg, Aerial view File:Kerkring, Klundert P1170466.jpg, Houses in Klundert

References

{{Authority control Cities in the Netherlands Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 1997 Populated places in North Brabant Former municipalities of North Brabant Moerdijk