IJsselstein () is a municipality and a city in 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 ...

, in the province 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 Net ...

. IJsselstein received

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

in 1331. IJsselstein owes its name to the river Hollandse IJssel which flows through the city. It is a major

commuting Commuting is periodically recurring travel between one's place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regu ...

suburb for the

area, along with neighbouring towns Houten and

Nieuwegein Nieuwegein () is a municipality and city in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is bordered on the north by the city of Utrecht, the provincial capital. It is separated from Vianen to the south by the river Lek and borders on IJsselstein in the ...

(in part due to the '' Sneltram'' light rail line serving the area). It's surrounded by the municipalities of Utrecht, Montfoort, Lopik,

Vijfheerenlanden Vijfheerenlanden (), literally "lands of five Lords", is a municipality in the province of Utrecht in the Netherlands. The municipality was created on 1 January 2019 through the merger of the former municipalities of Vianen (Utrecht), Leerdam an ...

and Nieuwegein.

Sights

The city has an old town, surrounded by a small canal. A castle stood in IJsselstein from 1300 to 1888; the tower survived. The city has two large churches, both named after

St. Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day Demre ...

: the

Dutch Reformed The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...

Nicolaas church, founded in 1310, and a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

one. Inside the Protestant church there are two mausoleums; one of the family of

Gijsbrecht van Amstel The van Amstel family ( nl, Heren van Amstel) was an influential dynasty in the medieval Netherlands from the twelfth until the fourteenth century. The family developed the Amstelland and held the stewardship in the ecclesiastical districts in t ...

(1350) and another one of (1475). The catholic basilica of St. Nicolaas dates from 1887 and is

neo-gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

. It was given the title of '

Basilica Minor In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

' by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

in 1972. A 366.8 metres high television mast, called the Gerbrandy Tower, is located in IJsselstein. The tower is commonly, and erroneously, referred to as ''Zendmast Lopik'', after the nearby village of Lopik.

Topography

File:Gem-IJsselstein-OpenTopo.jpg, Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of IJsselstein, June 2015 File:Yselstein 1649 Blaeu 1 van 4.jpg, 1649 map of IJsselstein in Willem and

Joan Blaeu Joan Blaeu (; 23 September 1596 – 21 December 1673) was a Dutch cartographer born in Alkmaar, the son of cartographer Willem Blaeu. Life In 1620, Blaeu became a doctor of law but he joined the work of his father. In 1635, they published ...

's "Toonneel der Steden"

Notable people

Arnold, Lord of IJsselstein Arnold, Lord of IJsselstein (also known as ''Arnoud'', 1304 – 12 February 1363) was the second Lord of IJsselstein and Stoutenburg and Schout of Amersfoort and the Eem Valley. Life He was a son of Gijsbrecht, Lord of IJsselstein and Bert ...

(1304–1363), the second Lord of IJsselstein and Stoutenburg * Maximiliaan of Egmont (1509–1548), Count of Buren and Leerdam, and

Stadtholder In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...

of Friesland 1540 to 1548 * Patrick van den Brink (born 1967), former mayor of IJsselstein * Marijke van Beukering-Huijbregts (born 1971), former alderwoman of IJsselstein *

Michel Vorm Michel Armand Vorm (born 20 October 1983) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper and was a goalkeeping coach at Tottenham Hotspur. Vorm began his professional career at FC Utrecht in 2005, spending his first season ...

(born 1983), retired football goalkeeper *

Nicki Pouw-Verweij Nicki Janna Francisca Pouw-Verweij (born 21 May 1991) is a Dutch physician and politician. She has served as member of the House of Representatives since March 2021. Pouw-Verweij studied medicine at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and was work ...

(born 1991), physician and politician

Gallery

File:Toren.Nicolaasbasiliek.IJsselstein.jpg, Catholic basilica File:IJsselstein.toren.jpg, Tower of the former castle File:Achtersloot.120.IJsselstein.jpg, Achtersloot 120, IJsselstein File:Ijsselstein kerk.jpg, Protestant church File:HistorischStadhuis.IJsselstein.jpg, HistorischStadhuis, IJsselstein

References

External links

* * Municipalities of Utrecht (province) Populated places in Utrecht (province) {{Utrecht-geo-stub