Giessen is a village in the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

province of

North Brabant North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called 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 the we ...

. It is located in the municipality of

Altena Altena (; 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, in the northern stretc ...

, about 7 km southeast of

Gorinchem Gorinchem ( or ), also spelled Gorkum, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of Oc ...

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 Maas River (French: Meuse) in the Dutch provinces of North Brabant and Gelderland. The Maas splits near Heusden with one channel flowing north until its confluence with the r ...

. The Dutch Reformed church 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 an ...

'' (artificial living hill). It was constructed in the 14th century. In 1755, the tower collapsed due to frequently 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 The city of Woudrichem was granted city rights in 1356. Geography The municipality is located at in th ...

. Giessen nowadays forms a single urban area with

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

Sights

Giessen is part of the New

Dutch Water Line The Dutch Waterline ( nl, Hollandsche Waterlinie, 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. Combine ...

. 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 serving as third Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minister for Poverty Policy, Participation and Pensions in the IV Rutte Cabinet since 10 January 2022. Sh ...

(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