Muiden () is a city and former municipality in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, in the province of

North Holland North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...

. It lies at the mouth of the Vecht and is in an area called the

Vechtstreek The Vechtstreek () (Dutch for "Vecht area") is a region in the Dutch provinces of Utrecht and North Holland along the Vecht River between the towns of Utrecht and Amsterdam. Located in the economic heartland of the Netherlands, it is known for ...

. Since 2016, Muiden has been part of the new municipality of Gooise Meren.

History

The first known reference to Muiden is from 953 when

Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of He ...

, granted the settlement and its toll rights to Cathedral of Saint Martin, Utrecht. It was called ''Amuda'', meaning "mouth of the (river) A". "A" was the old name for the Vecht river. In 1122 Muiden was, together with

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

, granted some city rights by Emperor

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...

. After the lands around Muiden were given to Count Floris V, he began building Muider Castle at the mouth of the Vecht river. Muiden once again 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 traditio ...

in 1296. The first defensive works date from the first half of the 15th century. In 1590 the walls are replaced with earthen mounds with

bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

s after a design by

Adriaen Anthonisz Adriaan Anthonisz (also known as Adriaen Anthonisz of Alcmaer) (1527–1607) was a Dutch mathematician, surveyor, cartographer, and military engineer who specialized in the design of fortifications. As a mathematician Anthonisz calculated in 1585 ...

. Muiden was the northern end of the Dutch Water Line. In 1673 the sea lock in the Vecht river was relocated from Fort Hinderdam to Muiden and in 1676 it was expanded with a sea wall along the Vecht mouth to prevent flooding. Developments in warfare during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 prompted another round of upgrades and the construction of forts part of the Stelling van Amsterdam, which includes the Muizenfort, the barracks on the Vestingplein, and the

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" me ...

s in the

ravelin A ravelin is a triangular fortification or detached outwork, located in front of the innerworks of a fortress (the curtain walls and bastions). Originally called a ''demi-lune'', after the ''lunette'', the ravelin is placed outside a castle ...

s. The layout of the fortification wall was revised. Fort Pampus Island, part of the former municipality of Muiden, was built from 1887 to 1897. Together with the lighthouse island near Durgerdam and the

artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to f ...

at the Diemer seawall, it was meant to protect the entrance of the IJ Bay and the harbour of Amsterdam.

Geography

The former municipality of Muiden had two population centers: Muiden and Muiderberg.

Attractions

Muiderslot Muiden Castle (Dutch: ''Muiderslot'', ) is a castle in the Netherlands, located at the mouth of the Vecht river, some 15 kilometers southeast of Amsterdam, in Muiden, where it flows into what used to be the Zuiderzee. It is one of the better kn ...

(Muider Castle), a well-preserved castle from the Middle Ages * Muizenfort, (Mice Fort) a 19th-century fortification part of the Stelling van Amsterdam * Fort

Pampus Pampus () is an artificial island and late 19th-century sea fort located in the IJmeer near Amsterdam. Pampus now belongs to the municipality of Gooise Meren and is open to visitors. Together with the artillery battery on the lighthouse isl ...

Island is an artificial island that is part of the

Defence Line of Amsterdam The UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Defence Line of Amsterdam (in Dutch named ''Stelling van Amsterdam'', ) is a ring of fortifications around Amsterdam. It has 42 forts that are from the centre and lowlands, which can easily be f ...

(Dutch: ''Stelling van Amsterdam''). Various regional walking and cycling routes pass Muiden.

Gunpowder factory

In 1702 the hazardous production of

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). T ...

was removed from the city of Amsterdam. The

vroedschap The vroedschap () was the name for the (all male) city council in the early modern Netherlands; the member of such a council was called a ''vroedman'', literally a "wise man". An honorific title of the ''vroedschap'' was the ''vroede vaderen' ...

of Muiden granted a permit to Reinier van Cuyk of Amsterdam to build a gunpowder mill just west of Muiden that same year. The factory flourished during the First World War, was

liquidated Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are re ...

in 1919, and was restarted in 1922. During the 20th century its production steadily increased and the town grew towards the factory. In 1972 it was renamed "Muiden Chemie". In the 1980s, it was accused of illegal shipments to Iran. In 1990 Muiden Chemie went bankrupt and was taken over by the British company Royal Ordnance, part of

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marconi ...

. After a fire in 2001 and ongoing concerns over safety, it was decided to close the factory permanently. Explosions since 1883: * January 9, 1883: explosion on the factory premises, resulting in 13 deaths and much damage to the factory and Muiden. * 1886: explosion, 2 deaths. Destroyed a part of the factory. * 1924/1925: several explosions, 1 death. * January 17, 1947: explosion of collected grenades on the factory premises, 17 deaths and much damage in Muiden. * 1948: a grenade exploded, 1 death. * 1949: explosion in a powder mill, 1 death. * June 13, 1963: explosion in the storage depot, no casualties. * June 2, 1966: explosion in the TNT factory, many injuries and much damage in Muiden. * December 8, 1972: explosion in drying chamber, 2 deaths, much damage in Muiden. * May 30, 1983: explosion, 3 deaths. * September 9, 1983: explosion, 1 death. * August 20, 2001: fire in packing materials storage, no explosions, no casualties.

Local government

Marleen de Pater-van der Meer of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) was the last mayor of Muiden. The municipal council of Muiden consisted of 13 seats, which were divided as follows (2015): *

People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a conservative-liberal Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49 political party i ...

(VVD): 3 seats * Labour Party (PvdA): 3 seats *

Democrats 66 Democrats 66 (; abbreviated D66, ) is a social liberal political party in the Netherlands, which positions itself in the centre of the political spectrum. It is a member of the Liberal International (LI) and the Alliance of Liberals and Demo ...

(D66): 3 seats * Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA): 2 seats * Ons Muiden Muiderberg: 2 seats

Notable people

* Abraham Samson Onderwijzer (1862-1934), rabbi and labour union founder

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Geography of Gooise Meren Former municipalities of North Holland Populated places in North Holland Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2016 Cities in the Netherlands