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| Gouda's Stadhuis - Town Hall with flags showing nicely against the blue sky |
Thursday, April 21, 2022
We arrived in Gouda on Thursday morning - the perfect day, as Thursday is the day for the weekly cheese market. Gouda has been a city since the 1200's. Originally a marsh at the confluence of the IJseel and Gouwe rivers, a fortified castle was built on the banks of the Gouwe, where we stopped to enter the old city.
Gouda is known for its creamy, golden cheese - but also is a center for delicious stroopwafels and clay smoking pipes. It's majestic town hall dates from the 14th Century and is located in the center of the market square. Nearby are the Goudse Waag (Cheese weighing house) and Sint Jan's church, the longest in the Netherlands.
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| Willem shows us the map of medieval Gouda (above) and the current day city guide |
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| We are walking along a central city canal, with a lock and bridge connected to the IJsell River |
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| The Molen t' Slot - the t' Slot windmill - sets on the remains of the old Gouda Castel |
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| A boat on one of the city gracht (canals) |
As we walked along the sidewalk, Willem pointed out a collection of Stolpersteine -stumbling stones- under our feet along the sidewalk. Initiated in 1992 by artist Gunter Demnig to commemorate a person, Jewish and others, at their last freely chosen place of living or working before facing Nazi terror or extermination or escaped persecution.
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| We encountered a series of brass stones along the sidewalk in Gouda |
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| These Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) commemorate a person who lost their life to Nazi terror. |
The central market square in Gouda was lively and crowded. The cheese market on Thursday mornings is accompanied by a general market selling food, second hand items and new products, in addition to the cheese vendors.
The first thing we encountered was a melodious street calliope. We stopped to enjoy the music. When it played Johnny Cash's famous song, "Burning Ring of Fire", we couldn't contain our exuberance. Willem began dancing in the street with our colleague Elena. What fun!
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| Thursdays mornings are lively and crowded because of the weekly cheese market |
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| A loud and melodious street calliope |
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| Willem's enthusiasm for Johnny Cash resulted in a spontaneous street dance |
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| Our colleague, Elena, graciously joined in the fun |
The Old City Hall (Stadhuis) majestically presides over all the commotion in the center of the square. Built in 1448, it is the longest city hall in the Netherlands.
There is a glockenspiel on the side of the town hall, built in the 1960's. It performs an animated ceremony every half an hour, depicting how Count Floris V handed over the city rights to the mayor of Gouda in 1272. Gouda is celebrating 750 years of being chartered city.
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| The City Hall was built in 1448. |
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| This glockenspiel is a recent addition - from the 1960's! |
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| Details of the city hall glockenspiel |
After checking out the cheese market and the glockenspiel performance, we wandered a little further afield - past Sint Janskerk - for some shopping and to scout out a place for lunch. |
| Gate from 1609, entrance to a courtyard and the Gouda historical museum |
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| Inside view of the courtyard of the Gouda Museum with St. John's church rising behind. |
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| Gouda's canals and bridges |
We saw a number of decorated statues of women around town - a new art installation in recognition of Gouda's 750 year celebration of its city charter. There are 50 "Goudse Iconen", which are blank copies of a famous Goudan bronze statue of a woman carrying cheese - "De Kaasboerin".
Like other similar installations (cows, tulip bulbs, dolphins, etc) these art reproductions are then decorated in various themes and stationed throughout the town. We saw about half a dozen of the 50 that are on display this spring and summer.
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| Central Markt Square |
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