City of Delft

Delft was the birthplace of: Hugo de Groot (1583-1645), the statesman and scholar, who laid the foundations for international law. The painters M. van Mierevelt (1567-1641) and Jan Vermeer van Delft (1632-1675). One of Vermeer's most famous paintings is called "View of Delft", depicting his home town. Anthony van Leeuwenhoek, inventor of the microscope.

In the 17th and 18th century, "Delft's Blauw" (Delft Blue, Delft pottery), made in imitation of Chinese and Japanese porcelain, was celebrated throughout Europe.

The death of Prince Willem van Oranje (William of Orange), the founder of Dutch independence, was assassinated here on the 10th July, 1584. The Prinsenhof, previously a monastery, was fitted up in 1575 as a residence for the princes of Orange.

City of Loenen aan de Vecht

The earliest traceable mention of the game of golf refers to a game played in Loenen aan de Vecht. In his book Early Golf, Steven van Hengel describes how the game of "Colf" or "Kolf" was played in 1297 near the castle of Kronenburg. The players had to hit the castle door in as few strikes as possible from the Court House by hitting a ball with a stick.

City of Vleuten



Vleuten is a former village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the city of Utrecht, and lies about 6 km west of it. In 2001, it became together with De Meern, a city part of Utrecht called Vleuten-De Meern. Vleuten has a railway station on the line between Utrecht and Woerden.

Castle "De Haar"

De Haar Castle is probably the most visited castle in the Netherlands, after Muiden Castle. This Gothic fairy-tale castle we see today however was built from 1892 till 1912 with incorporation of the large 15th century ruins of the original castle.

 De Haar Castle was founded in the 14th century on sediment deposits along a blind arm of the river Rhine. It was first mentioned in 1391. Originally the owner of De Haar Castle was a member of the Van de Haar family, who as a manservant of the Prince-bishop of Utrecht, had enough prestige to have a fortified residence built for himself and his family. What this residence looked like was never registered. In 1449 the castle became property of the Van Zuylen family through the marriage between Josyna van de Haar and Dirk van Zuylen. It probably got its pentagonal shape after the castle was destroyed in 1482 as a result of the quarrels between the bishop and the city of Utrecht.

http://www.castles.nl/haar/haar.html

City of Culemborg

Culemborg received it’s city rights in 1315.

In Joannes Blaeu's map of 1649, Culemborg remains entirely enclosed by walls behind its city moat-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 gardens are plentiful within the city walls.

 

City of Woerden

The river Oude Rijn used to flow through the city center of Woerden, but in 1960 the old river was diverted around the city center. The city has a long and rich history in cheese making and trading; for years Gouda cheese for domestic and international use has been produced in this region. Woerden still holds its authentic (since 1885) cheese market at the market place in its center.

At the highest spot, the Romans built a castellum (Castellum Laurum), as part of the limes of the Roman Empire and thus part of the defense lines of the northern border of the Roman Empire. The first castellum was built in the 40s AD, and was destroyed in 69 AD during the Batavian rebellion. In 70 AD the castellum was rebuilt, and the Romans remained until 402 AD, with an interruption lasting from about 275-300 AD.

27th Trilathon Woerden, June-13-2011