Giessen is a village in the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

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 in the municipality of

Altena Altena (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Altenoa'') is a town in the district of Märkischer Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town's castle is the origin for the later Dukes of Berg. Altena is situated on the Lenne river valley, i ...

, about 7 km southeast of

Gorinchem Gorinchem ( ), pronunciation respelling, also spelled Gorkum, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. It had a population of in . The munici ...

History

The village was first mentioned in 1178 as Giscen. It is named after a river, however the etymology is unclear. Giessen developed in the Middle Ages along the

Afgedamde Maas The Afgedamde Maas (; Dammed-up Meuse) is a former distributary of the Meuse, Maas River (French: Meuse) in the Netherlands, Dutch Provinces of the Netherlands, provinces of North Brabant and Gelderland. The Maas splits near Heusden with one chan ...

. The Dutch Reformed church was dates was built on a ''

terp A ''terp'', also known as a ''wierde, woerd, warf, warft, werf, werve, wurt'' or ''værft'', is an artificial dwelling mound found on the North European Plain that has been created to provide safe ground during storm surges, high tides and ...

'' (artificial living hill) in the 14th century. In 1755, the tower collapsed due to frequent flooding. The church was enlarged in 1856. Giessen was home to 360 people in 1840. Giessen was a separate municipality until 1973, when it became a part of the former municipality of

Woudrichem Woudrichem (; Brabantian: ''Woerkum'') is a city and former municipality in the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands. History Woudrichem originated in the ninth century. A marketplace emerged on a riverbank where Hoogstraat and Mol ...

. Giessen nowadays forms a single urban area with

Rijswijk Rijswijk (), formerly known as Ryswick ( ) in English, is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Its population was 59.642 in 2024, and it has an area of , of which is water. The municipality also i ...

Sights

Giessen is part of the New

Dutch Water Line The Dutch Waterline (; modern spelling: ''Hollandse Waterlinie'') was a series of water-based defences conceived by Maurice of Nassau in the early 17th century, and realised by his half brother Frederick Henry. Combined with natural bodies of wat ...

. Fort Giessen has been preserved, and was constructed between 1878 and 1881. In 2013 Giessen Castle was rediscovered in the village. There are no visible traces of this castle, except for a small monument that marks its location.

Notable inhabitants

Carola Schouten Cornelia Johanna "Carola" Schouten (; born 6 October 1977) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Union (CU). She was Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and Third Deputy Prime Minister in the third Rutte cabinet from 2017 to 20 ...

(born 1977), politician

Gallery

File:Giessen - Kerkstraat 2 - Ned. Herv. kerk.jpg, Dutch Reformed church File:Kopgevel kleur - Giessen - 20458215 - RCE.jpg, Farm in Giessen File:Fort Giessen gebouw A.jpg, Fort Giessen File:Eugen Jettel - Ansicht von Giessen (Nordbrabant) - 733 - Österreichische Galerie Belvedere.jpg, Painting of Giessen by Eugen Jettel (1886)

References

Populated places in North Brabant Former municipalities of North Brabant Geography of Altena, North Brabant {{NorthBrabant-geo-stub