Gorinchem

Gorinchem sits where the Linge joins the Merwede and has kept an almost complete bastioned rampart circuit of the 1580s and 1590s - eleven bastions, walkable the whole way round, with gates, a windmill on the wall and views over the rivers from the top. It stood in the Hollandse Waterlinie and later the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie, the flooding defence systems now on the UNESCO list, and the position at a junction of three waterways is why. The old town inside has a long main street, the Grote Kerk with a leaning tower, and merchant houses. A small ferry crosses to Woudrichem and to Slot Loevestein, so the three make one trip - the castle where Hugo Grotius escaped in a book chest is directly across the water and the crossing is part of the point.

History

Gorinchem is thought to have been founded around 1000 by fishermen and farmers on raised land where the Linge meets the Merwede. As Goriks Heem, "home of Gorik", it is first mentioned in 1224, when Floris IV freed its people from tolls throughout Holland, and between 1247 and 1267 it passed to the lords of Arkel (Wikipedia, Gorinchem).

What to look for

• Eleven bastions walkable - a near-complete rampart circuit of the 1580s and 1590s.
• A three-river junction - the Linge meeting the Merwede below the walls.
• A windmill on the wall - standing on the rampart above the town.
• Ferries to Woudrichem and Loevestein - the three sites linked by short crossings.

When to go

April to October. A day.

What to expect

Ferries run a seasonal timetable and stop in high water or ice. The rampart walk is exposed. The town centre is ordinary in parts. Museums close on Mondays.

Nearby

Slot Loevestein and Woudrichem are across the water by ferry.

Key facts