Wijk bij Duurstede
Encyclopedia
The city of Wijk bij Duurstede
The city (population as of 2007: 23,377) is located on the Rhine. At Wijk bij Duurstede, the Kromme RijnKromme Rijn
The Kromme Rijn is a river in Utrecht , Netherlands.In Roman times, this northernmost branch of the Rhine delta was the main distributary of this major European river...
(Crooked Rhine) branches off, and the main branch is called Lek River
Lek River
The Lek is a river in the western Netherlands of some 60 km in length. It is the continuation of the Nederrijn after the Kromme Rijn branches off at the town of Wijk bij Duurstede. The main westbound waterway is hereafter called the Lek River...
downstream from Wijk bij Duurstede.
The name 'Wijk bij Duurstede' means 'neighbourhood near Duurstede'. Duurstede is the name of the nearby castle/ruin
Duurstede Castle
Castle Duurstede is a medieval castle in Wijk bij Duurstede in the province of Utrecht in the Netherlands.-Origin and development:The castle originated in the 13th century. Around 1270, Zweder I van Zuylen van Abcoude built a freestanding keep on a raised and moated site near the lost city Dorestad...
, where the bishop of Utrecht used to live. Wijk bij Duurstede is located at the place where Dorestad
Dorestad
In the Early Middle Ages, Dorestad was the largest settlement of northwestern Europe. It was a large, flourishing trading place, three kilometers long, situated where the rivers Rhine and Lek diverge southeast of Utrecht in the Netherlands near the modern town of Wijk bij Duurstede...
used to be, an important trade settlement, that was pillaged around 850 by the Vikings.
Wijk bij Duurstede has the only drive-through wind mill in the world. The mill is often confused with the mill that was made famous by Ruisdael's
Jacob Isaakszoon van Ruysdael
Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael was a Dutch landscape painter.-Life:A native of Haarlem, he appears to have studied under his father Isaak van Ruysdael, a landscape painter, though other authorities place him as the pupil of Berghem and of Allart van Everdingen...
1670 painting The windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede. That mill however no longer exists (its foundations can still be seen a couple of blocks away from the remaining mill). At the market place of Wijk bij Duurstede is one of the few church towers in the Netherlands with a flat roof, so built because the bishop couldn't afford to build a spire. Inside the tower a picture displays the planned construction of the tower. The tower was supposed to become higher than the Domtoren in Utrecht
Utrecht
Utrecht is a city in the Netherlands.The name may also refer to:* Utrecht , of which Utrecht is the capital* Utrecht , including the city of Utrecht* Bishopric of Utrecht* Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht...
.
Wijk bij Duurstede received city rights
City rights in the Netherlands
City rights are a medieval phenomenon in the history of the Low Countries. A liegelord, usually a count, duke or similar member of high nobility, granted a settlement he owned certain town privileges that settlements without city rights did not have....
in 1315.