Weesp () is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
, an urban area in the
municipality of
Amsterdam and a former municipality in the
province of
North Holland
North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...
,
Netherlands. It had a population of in . It lies on the river
Vecht and next to the
Amsterdam–Rhine Canal in an area called the
Vechtstreek.
On 1 June 2019 the civil service offices of the municipality of Weesp merged with those of the municipality of Amsterdam in preparation of the merger of the two municipalities, which was finalized on 24 March 2022.
History
Until the early
Middle Ages the region around Weesp was an uninhabited
peat bog. Weesp (Wesopa in
Latin documents) was granted
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 tradition ...
in 1355 and celebrated its 650th anniversary as a city in 2005.
From the late Middle Ages, the river Vecht was a defensive line for the County of Holland and it remained a military defensive line until the
Second World War. Weesp was strongly fortified, more than its size would justify; for most of its history it had a few thousand inhabitants.
The defensive lines consisted of inundation zones, which would be flooded in wartime (the
Hollandic Water Line). Behind them were fortified towns, forts, barracks and other military structures. The most comprehensive was the Defence Line of Amsterdam (
Stelling van Amsterdam), a circular inundation zone around Amsterdam, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
[''Defence line of Amsterdam'' on the UNESCO website](_blank)
/ref>
After the Second World War, new housing was built in the west and an industrial zone with a harbour at the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal was constructed. In the 1970s a suburb was built on the south. Another suburb was built in the north which recently expanded with plans for further expansion.
Before the reformation the church was dedicated to Saint Laurens. It is still in use for Protestant services. In the tower it has a famous carillon by Pieter Hemony cast in 1671. Following the 19th Century emancipation of Dutch Catholics, a Catholic church was erected in Weesp.
Population centres
The municipality of Weesp consisted of three towns: De Horn, Uitermeer, and Weesp. The north of the city of Weesp is known for its Hogewey dementia village.
Economy
The first Dutch porcelain originated in Weesp and dates to 1759. The venture was led by Bertrand Philip, Count of Gronsveld.
The most famed product of Weesp is Van Houten
Van Houten is a Dutch toponymic surname.
The name literally means "from Houten" which refers to the town of Houten in the Netherlands. In 1947, there were 2,736 people with this surname in the Netherlands and 4,283 people in 2007. chocolate. Before cocoa production, the local economy had been based on beer breweries, jenever
Jenever (, ), also known as Hollands, genever, genièvre, peket, or sometimes as Dutch gin (archaic: Holland gin or Geneva gin), is the juniper-flavored traditional liquor in the Netherlands, Belgium and adjoining areas in northern France an ...
distilleries, production of Weesper porcelain, and trade, due to its location on a branch point of waterways. In the 21st century, the economy is very diverse.
There were large facilities of Solvay Pharmaceuticals, until February 2010 when Abbott Laboratories
Abbott Laboratories is an American multinational medical devices and health care company with headquarters in Abbott Park, Illinois, United States. The company was founded by Chicago physician Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888 to formulate known dr ...
of North Chicago, Illinois acquired Solvay Pharmaceuticals. At this site there is a chemical plant which manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredient for Abbott brands Duphalac and Duphaston and a biologic plant which manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredient for Abbott's flu vaccine Influvac. The local specialty is the Weesper Mop cookie, which is based on mashed almond.
Tourism
Weesp is a popular stop for tourists. It has a protected historical center with canals and many buildings dating from the seventeenth and eighteenth century. Weesp has three full-size historical windmills. It features a bastion
A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...
and fortifications that are part of the Defense line of Amsterdam and the Dutch Water Line. These structures have never been attacked, though. The scenic river Vecht and the small roads that line it attract yachters and cyclists. The Naardermeer area, the first nature reserve in the Netherlands, is at 15 minutes cycling distance from Weesp; it protects the Gooi landscape. The Weesp local museum is located in the former city hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
.
Urban area government
The seats in the Weesp administrative committee elected on 16 March 2022 for four years are divided between the political parties as follow
Transport
Weesp has one railway station, Weesp railway station, Weesp. It serves as a transfer station for passengers on local trains on the Amsterdam– Amersfoort ('' Oosterspoorweg'') and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport ( nl, Luchthaven Schiphol, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the province ...
– Almere ('' Schiphollijn'' and '' Flevolijn'') lines, which bundle up just before Weesp and diverge right after. Weesp therefore benefits from 16 departures per hour, serving many destinations including Amsterdam Centraal, Schiphol Airport, Hilversum
Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilvers ...
, Amersfoort Centraal and Utrecht Centraal
Utrecht Centraal, officially Station Utrecht Centraal (), is the transit hub that integrates three bicycle parkings, two bus stations, two tram stops and the central railway station for the city of Utrecht in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands. ...
four times per hour.
In front of the railway station there is a small bus station with services to neighbouring towns and villages such as Muiden, Muiderberg, and Nigtevecht and to Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA station.
Notable people
* Thomas Hees
Thomas Hees (1634 - 1693) was a Dutch diplomat, active in the negotiations of the States General with the corsairs of Barbary. He is mostly known through his famous portrait (painted by Michiel van Musscher) but also thanks to the journal which h ...
(1634-1693) a Dutch diplomat, negotiated for the Seventeen Provinces with the Barbary corsairs
The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli. This area was known i ...
* Salomon van Til
Salomon van Til (28 December 1643, in Weesp – 31 October 1713, in Leiden) was a theologian of the Dutch Reformed Church and a leading theological thinker of the post-Johannes Cocceius, Cocceius era.
Background
Van Til was born in Weesp, the son ...
(1643-1713) a theologian of the Dutch Reformed Church
* Bernardus van Schijndel
Bernardus van Schijndel (1647–1709) was a Dutch Golden Age painter of small scale genre works.
Biography
According to Houbraken, he was a Haarlemmer who lived alongside Reinier (Richard) Brakenburg (1650–1702) in Leeuwarden for a period, wh ...
(1647–1709) a Dutch Golden Age
The Dutch Golden Age ( nl, Gouden Eeuw ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands, roughly spanning the era from 1588 (the birth of the Dutch Republic) to 1672 (the Rampjaar, "Disaster Year"), in which Dutch trade, science, and Dutch art, ...
painter of small scale genre works
* Cornelis Ploos van Amstel (1726–1798) a Dutch painter and art collector
* Coenraad Johannes van Houten
Coenraad Johannes van Houten (15 March 1801 – 27 May 1887) was a Dutch chemist and chocolate maker known for the treatment of cocoa mass with alkaline salts to remove the bitter taste and make cocoa solids more water-soluble; the resulting ...
(1801 – 1887 in Weesp) a Dutch chemist and chocolate maker
* Willy Mullens (1880-1952) a Dutch producer, director, and promoter of movies
* Phemia Molkenboer
Euphemia Hendrika Maria (Phemia) Molkenboer (Weesp, 10 September 1883 – Amsterdam, 10 May 1940) was a Dutch ceramist, furniture designer, Drawing, draughtswoman and art teacher. Groot, M.(2007); ''Vrouwen in de vormgeving in Nederland 1880–194 ...
(1883–1940) a Dutch ceramist, furniture designer and art teacher
* Willem van Beusekom (1947–2006) a Dutch broadcaster, TV presenter and radio DJ
* Wendy van Dijk (born 1971) a Dutch actress and TV presenter IMDb Database
retrieved 09 January 2020
* Lieuwe Albertsma (born 1987) stage name Wulf, a Dutch musician
Sport
*
Marco Ruitenbeek
Marco Ruitenbeek (born 12 May 1968) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Dutch side AZ and Scottish club Dunfermline Athletic, as well as Go Ahead Eagles and SV Huizen.
Career
Ruitenbeek was born in Weesp, N ...
(born 1968) a former Dutch footballer with over 250 club caps
*
Antoni Hardonk (born 1976) a Dutch mixed martial artist and kickboxer
See also
*
Porcelain manufacturing companies in Europe
*
Bertrand Philip, Count of Gronsveld
References
External links
*
*
Official website
{{Authority control, state=collapsed
Cities in the Netherlands
Former municipalities of North Holland
Populated places in North Holland