Gorinchem

Gorinchem is a fortified town in the Groene Hart region of South Holland. The town, while small, has a historic town center with a lot of character. Some foreign visitors have already discovered this gem, but it's still missing from the average guidebook and thus very authentic. It's best to hire a bicycle and explore the surrounding countryside. Windmills, rivers and dikes, all are present in an endless flat, green polder landscape.

Understand
Gorinchem, spoken and occasionally written as Gorkum, is a city and municipality in Zuid-Holland, along the rivers Linge and Boven-Merwede. The city is partly within the Alblasserwaard and the Tielerwaard. The eastern part of the city, the part in the Tielerwaard, was a part of Gelderland until 1986.

The city is believed to have been settled around 1000 AD. The first reference to the then town dates from 1224. The town was purchased in 1273, and at the end of the 13th century, the town was fortified to protect against the neighbouring counties and duchies of Holland and Guelders. This time also saw the construction of the first public services, such as the Heilige-Geestkapel, Gasthuis and the Kanselarijkapel. Halfway through the fourteenth century, the city's ramparts were enforced with stone walls, which has a 7 gates and 23 towers. The city then gained its city rights in 1382. A large fire destroyed almost the entire town only 6 years later. Gorinchem became a part of the County of Holland in 1417.

Gorinchem would expand over time, with a large boom happening during the Dutch Golden Age. The town was heavily damaged as a result of French troops withdrawing from the country during the Napoleonic era. In 1815, Gorinchem was set to become a part of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie. The town's defence works were updated at this point.

The Industrial Revolution gave Gorinchem another boost, with industry improving, and travelling times to the rest of the country being significantly reduced with the introduction of the Staatsspoorlijn railway between Breda and Rotterdam. The Industrial Revolution, however, also resulted in the city's defence works being no longer sufficient and virtually unusable.

The first expansions of the city since the seventeenth century happened in the twentieth century. The bloom of the previous century had attracted a lot more citizens, which could no longer be housed in the city centre alone. Gorinchem has grown significantly since, but this did not deteriorate the city centre, which is still a lovely fortified city.



By car
Gorinchem can be found along the A15/E31 and A27/E311 highways. The A15 starts on the Rotterdam Maasvlakte, not too far from Brielle, and terminates in between Arnhem and Nijmegen. The A27 connects Almere and Utrecht with Breda. Gorinchem is about halfway down either of these highways. The city is serviced by three highway exits, two of which are on the A15, namely exit 27 (Gorinchem) and exit 28 (Arkel). The A27 connects to the binnenstad via exit 24 (Avelingen).

By public transit
Gorinchem is serviced by a single train station, namely. The railway connects Gorinchem to Dordrecht in the west and Geldermalsen in the east. Either of these two stations is well-served by national trains. The train station of Gorinchem is also its main bus hub, with buses connecting to most of the city. The city centre, however, is a twelve-minute walk away from the train station.

By boat
The region is easily explored by the various river ferries and 'water taxi' (Veerdienst Gorinchem).