Culemborg () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

and a city in the centre of 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 ...

. The city had a population of 29,386 on 1 January 2022 and is situated just south of the

Lek river The Lek () is a river in the western Netherlands of some in length. It is the continuation of the Nederrijn after the Kromme Rijn branches off at the town of Wijk bij Duurstede. The main westbound waterway is hereafter called the Lek River. Th ...

. Direct train lines run from the

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

towards the cities of

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 Nethe ...

and

Den Bosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...

History

Culemborg, formerly also spelled Kuilenburg or Kuylenburgh, received city rights in 1318. For a long time, Culemborg was independent from any counties or duchies in the Netherlands. The city had gained the right of toll collection and the

right of asylum The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another enti ...

: it was a so-called '''Vrijstad''' (

free city Free city may refer to: Historical places * Free city (antiquity) a self-governed city during the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial eras * Free imperial city, self-governed city in the Holy Roman Empire subordinate only to the emperor ** Free City of ...

). In practice, this meant that people who had fled to Culemborg from other cities (for example due to bankruptcy) could evade their creditors in Culemborg. The creditors would not be allowed entry into the city. This did not mean that criminals could escape justice in Culemborg: the city had its own justice system which could sentence criminals. In Amsterdam, the phrase '''Naar Culemborg gaan (Going to Culemborg) became synonymous with going bankrupt. In Joan Blaeu's map of 1649, Culemborg remains entirely enclosed by walls behind its city

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

-like encircling canals. The moated castle stands ''outside'' the city walls. Houses present a united front along streets and the two canals that cut the city in three sections, but they all face gardens behind, and

market garden A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to som ...

s are plentiful within the city walls. In the beginning of the 18th century, Culemborg effectively lost its independence as it was incorporated into the Nijmegen Quarter, although it regained some sovereign rights. Later, it was given to stadholder Willem IV. To this day, the Dutch king Willem-Alexander remains count of Culemborg. In 1795, the city was occupied by French forces, who left the castle in such a despicable state it was demolished after the French had left. A few years later it was completely incorporated in the Bataafse Republiek, and losing its sovereign rights. In 1868, a railway bridge was built over the river Lek which was the longest bridge in Europe for a few years. Just upstream of it is a reaction ferry In 1995, Culemborg was one of the cities which was temporarily evacuated because of the risk of flooding. Between 1994 and 2009 the city of Culemborg developed the innovative ecological neighbourhood

EVA Lanxmeer Lanxmeer is the name of an ecological neighbourhood (240 houses) built from 1994 to 2009 in the town of Culemborg in the Netherlands. It is an environmentally friendly housing development. It was initiated by Marleen Kaptein, who was looking ...

. Close collaboration with inhabitants and experimental

sustainable design Environmentally sustainable design (also called environmentally conscious design, eco-design, etc.) is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of ecological sustainability ...

has made the neighbourhood an international best practice.

Transportation

Culemborg is served by Culemborg railway station, which offers trains to

Utrecht (city) 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 ...

4x per hour and 2x per hour to

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...

and Tiel each. The railway station also provides a bus hub, offering buses to the various neighbouring cities and villages (namely Buren, Beusichem and Nieuwegein).

Topography

''Dutch topographic map of the municipality of Culemborg, June 2015''

Economy

Dough processing company Rademaker BV, founded in 1977, moved to Culemborg in 1981 and still has their headquarters here.

Windmills

There are two traditional windmills in Culemborg, ''De Hoop'' and ''Johanna''. The base of a third mill, ''De Koornvriend'', also survives.

Notable residents

Anthony van Diemen Anthony van Diemen (also ''Antonie'', ''Antonio'', ''Anton'', ''Antonius'') (1593 – 19 April 1645) was a Dutch colonial governor. Early life He was born in Culemborg in the Netherlands, the son of Meeus Anthonisz van Diemen and Christina Ho ...

(1593–1645), Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies * Jan van Riebeeck (1619–1677) colonial administrator, founded

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...

(

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

) *

Roelof de Man Roelof de Man (1634–1663) was a Dutch colonial administrator in South Africa. He was born in Culemborg (formerly also spelled Culenborg or Kuilenburg or Kuylenburgh), Netherlands in 1634 and grew up in the same walled village and era as Dutch Ex ...

(1634 - 1663), bookkeeper and second-in-charge to Jan van Riebeeck at founding of

(

) *

Otto van Rees Otto van Rees (4 January 1823 – 10 March 1892) was a Dutch liberalism, liberal politician and the Colonial Governor of the Dutch East Indies. Van Rees was Minister of Colonial Affairs of the Netherlands in 1879. He was president of the House ...

(1823–1892), minister and Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies *

Rudi Martinus van Dijk Rudi Martinus van Dijk (27 March 1932 – 29 November 2003) was a Dutch and Canadian composer of orchestral, chamber and vocal music. In all Van Dijk's music, whichever of his stylistic trends it seems immediately to favour, the voice of a high ...

(1932–2003) a Dutch and Canadian composer of orchestral, chamber and vocal music *

Wilhelmina Cooper Wilhelmina Gertrud Frieda Cooper (née Behmenburg; 1 May 1939 – 1 March 1980) was a Dutch-American model who began with Ford Models, and at the peak of her success, founded her own agency, Wilhelmina Models, in New York City in 1967. Retrieve ...

(1939–1980), fashion model, founded

Wilhelmina Models Wilhelmina International Inc. (NASDAQ: WHLM), formerly Wilhelmina Models, is a full service modeling and talent agency headquartered in New York City, United States. The company also has offices in Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami. Founded in 1 ...

, New York * Farid Azarkan (born 1971), politician and leader of Denk * Jelka van Houten (born 1978), actress IMDb Database
retrieved 27 December 2019

Sport

Elly van Hulst Elisa ("Elly") Maria van Hulst (born 9 June 1959) is a former middle distance runner from the Netherlands. She competed in the 800 m and 1500 m events at the 1984 Summer Olympics and in the 1500 m and 3000 m at the 1988 Summer Olympics; her best ...

(born 1959), middle distance runner, competed at the 1984 and

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

* Patrick Pothuizen (born 1972), football player over 450 club caps *

Michiel Elijzen Michiel Elijzen (born 31 August 1982 in Culemborg, Gelderland) is a Dutch former professional road bicycle racer, who retired from competition after the 2010 season to become a sporting director for , the team for which he last rode competitively ...

(born 1982) a Dutch former professional road bicycle racer

Gallery

File:Culemborg, de Binnenpoort RM11554 foto11 2015-08-06 13.21.jpg, Town gate: ''de Binnenpoort'' File:Culemborg, by Jan Weissenbruch.jpg, Culemborg, 1880 File:Culemborg, molen de Hoop RM451862 foto3 2015-08-06 13.14.jpg, Windmill: ''molen de Hoop'' File:Culemborg, Netherlands - panoramio (18).jpg, Culemborg - panorama

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Municipalities of Gelderland Populated places in Gelderland Cities in the Netherlands