Gorinchem

Municipality of Gorinchem

Flag	Coat of arms
Province	Zuid-Holland
Mayor	Reinie Melissant-Briene (CDA)
Seat of the municipality	Gorinchem
Area – Land – Water	21.93 km2 18.87 km2 3.06 km2
CBS Code	0512
Inhabitants	37.416 (Jan. 1, 2021[1])
Population density	1706 inhabitants/km2
Coordinates	51° 50′ N, 4° 58′ E51.8305555555564.9741666666667Coordinates 51° 50′ N, 4° 58′ O
Important traffic route
Area code	0183
Postal codes	4201–4208, 4213
Website	Homepage of Gorinchem
Template:Infobox Place in the Netherlands/Maintenance/Map

Gorinchem ( sync and corrections by n17t01^?/i) [

ˈɣɔɾkʏm], often spelled after the pronunciation Gorkum or Gorcum, is a town and municipality in the Dutch province of South Holland and had 37,416 inhabitants on 1 January 2021, according to CBS data. The total area of the municipality is 21.93 km².

Situation and economy

The city is located in the extreme southeast of the province on the Merwede River and at the southern end of the Merwede Canal. The Rotterdam-Tiel-Arnheim/Nijmegen and Utrecht-Breda motorways intersect at Gorinchem. Gorinchem has a small railway station on the local railway Dordrecht – Geldermalsen. The town has a large industrial area(Avelingen) with an inland harbour, where a shipyard, machine and other metal-working factories and wholesalers are located. The agriculture and horticulture in the area (cattle, apples) is also important.

Cesare Fracassini (1838-1868): Execution of the Martyrs of Gorkum, Rome, Vatican

History

Gorinchem was already a farming and fishing village around the year 1000. It was first documented in 1224. Otto van Arkel granted the already walled village town charter in 1382. After the Van Arkel family died out, Gorinchem became part of Holland in 1417, which favoured the town’s trade.

In 1566 the town became Protestant. In 1572, during the Eighty Years’ War, Gorcum fell to the rebellious Dutch, resulting in a massacre: Nineteen Catholic clergymen, because they refused to convert to the new doctrine, were taken away by the Geuses and later hanged. These victims of the intolerance of that time are called – nowadays also by many Protestants – the Martyrs of Gorkum. They were beatified by Pope Clement X on 24 November 1675. On 29 June 1867 they were canonised by Pope Pius IX. The most famous among them is Theodor van der Eem. The relics of the martyrs of Gorkum are venerated in the Church of Saint Nicholas in Brussels. Their day of commemoration is 9 July.

In 1609 the new town fortification was completed.

The 18th century was an era of economic decline for Gorinchem

During the winter campaign of 1813/1814, French troops entrenched themselves in Gorinchem against the advancing Prussian and Russian troops. In order to have a clear field of fire, the French general Antoine-Guillaume Rampon had all the buildings around the town demolished or burned down. On 22 January 1814 the siege of the town by the Allies began, and on 5 February the French surrendered. Parts of Gorinchem were destroyed by the fighting.

From about 1880, when the railway was built and new land and waterways were created, a second period of prosperity began.

Gorinchemse Tijd

The meridian that was authoritative (5° east longitude) since 17 March 1937 for Amsterdam time (AZ), in use in the Netherlands from 1909 to 1940, passed exactly through Gorinchem. Therefore one spoke also of the Gorinchemse Tijd (Gorinchemer time).^[2]

Places of interest

The fortifications with the Dalem city gate can be counted among the sights. They were restored in 2001. The former town hall (built in 1860) houses the town museum. Gorinchem still has some old houses.

There is a marina on the Linge River, which also flows through the municipality.

A cycling tour via Arkel and the Linge dike to Leerdam or via Meerkerk to Ameide (municipality of Zederik), is recommended especially in early summer because of the picturesque landscape.

• 

  Big church

• 

  Marketplace

• 

  Old Town Harbour

• 

  Mill ‘De Hoop

• 

  Monumental building ‘De blauwe hoed

• 

  Port

• 

  Gorcum Museum

• 

  Goal

• 

  Bridge: de Haarbrug

• 

  Chapel

• 

  Former church St. Nicolaas Pieck en Gezellen

Politics

Allocation of seats in the municipal council

The March 21, 2018 local elections resulted in the following distribution of seats:

Mayor

Since 28 August 2017, Reinie Melissant-Briene (CDA) is the acting mayor of the municipality.^[5] Her collegium includes the aldermen Dick van Zanten (Stadsbelang), Eelke Kraaijeveld (PvdA), Joost van der Geest (CDA), Ro van Doesburg (Democraten Gorinchem) and the municipal secretary Simon de Leeuw.^[6]

Twinning

• Belgium Sint-Niklaas in Flanders, Belgium
• Italy Lucca in Tuscany, Italy

Sons and daughters of the city

• Henry of Gorkum (c. 1378-1431), Thomist and professor of theology
• Thomas Erpenius (1584-1624), theologian and orientalist
• Boudewijn Cats (1601-1663), Roman Catholic bishop
• Cornelis Saftleven (1607-1681), painter
• Jan Meerhout (before 1630-1677), painter
• Jan van der Heyden (1637-1712), painter and inventor
• Ida Gerhardt (1905-1997), poet, classical scholar and translator
• Jan van Mersbergen (* 1971), writer and editor
• Marco van Hoogdalem (* 1972), former football player
• Fabio Jakobsen (* 1996), cyclist, born in Heukulem
• Frenkie de Jong (* 1997), football player

Web links

Commons: Gorinchem– Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Wikisource: Gorcum in the Topographia Circuli Burgundici (Mathäus Merian)– Sources and full texts

• Website of the municipality (Dutch)
• Website of the Gorcums Museum (German, Dutch, English, French)
• Illustration by Daniel Meisner from 1625: Gorcúm. Si Nimium Intensus Subitò Tunc Frangitur Arcus(Digitalisat)

Individual references

1. ↑ Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand. In: StatLine. Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, 10 March 2021 (Dutch).
2. ↑ Eenheid van tijd in Nederland, accessed 19 April 2017 (Dutch).
3. ↑ Result of the local elections 2014 2018@1@2Template:Dead Link/www.gorinchem.nl(page no longer available, search web archives ) Info: Thelink was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice., retrieved 31 May 2018 (Dutch)
4. ↑ Distribution of seats in the municipal council 2006 2010 2014 2018@1@2Template:Dead Link/www.gorinchem.nl(page no longer available, search web archives ) Info: Thelink was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice., retrieved 31 May 2018 (Dutch)
5. ↑ Installatie nieuwe burgemeester Gorinchem uitgesteld.In: RTV Rijnmond. 23 June 2017, retrieved 31 May 2018 (Dutch).
6. ↑ Burgemeester en wethouders(Memento of Originals august 10, 2016 on the Internet Archive) Info:The archive linkwas inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check original and archive link according to instructions and then remove this notice.@1@2Template:Webachiv/IABot/www.gorinchem.nl Gemeente Gorinchem, retrieved 31 May 2018 (Dutch)