Today, the municipality of Geertruidenberg includes the population centres Raamsdonk and Raamsdonksveer. The municipality has a total area of 29.64 km2 (11.44 sq mi) and had a population of 21,770 in 2021. The city government consists of the mayor and three aldermen.
In 1213, Sint Geertruidenberg (English: "Saint Gertrude's Mountain") received city rights from Count William I of Holland. The fortified city became a trade center, where counts and other nobility gathered for negotiations. In 1323–1325, Geertruidenberg Castle was constructed very close to the city center.
During the Hook and Cod wars, the city chose the Cod side in 1351, while the castle remained on the Hook side. This led to the 1350–1351 Siege of Geertruidenberg. In 1420 a similar siege during a later Hook and Cod war caused huge damage to the city. The Saint Elizabeth's flood of 1421 then ended the prosperity of Geertruidenberg.[5]
Today, Geertruidenberg is part of the province of North Brabant, but it was once part of the county of Holland. Geertruidenberg is the second oldest city of Holland as it was the first to receive city rights. It is a common misconception that Geertruidenberg is the oldest city of the Netherlands, because the names Holland and the Netherlands are used interchangeably by some.
Geography
The total area of the municipality is 29.64 km2 (11.44 sq mi), of which 26.63 km2 (10.28 sq mi) is land and 3.01 km2 (1.16 sq mi) is water.
The municipality of Geertruidenberg comprises three population centres:
Geertruidenberg is located on the bank of the Donge, close to where this river flows into the Amer.
Demography
As of 2021, the total population of Geertruidenberg was 21,770. The population density was 817/km2 (2,120/sq mi).
Government
Geertruidenberg, churchtower in the street
The mayor of Geertruidenberg is Marian Witte who, like all mayors in the Netherlands, was appointed by the Dutch monarch. She is supported by four aldermen who, with the mayor, form the College van Burgemeester en Wethouders.[1]
The city council is elected every four years, at the same time as most other Dutch municipalities. The 19 members of the city council assemble ten times per year for public meetings in the city hall in Raamsdonksveer. The council members come from seven political parties, four local and three national (2022):[7]
Juliana de Lannoy (1738 – 1782 in St. Geertruidenberg) an artist and poet, lived in St. Geertruidenberg from 1758
Willem Sassen (1918 in Geertruidenberg – 2002) a Dutch collaborator, Nazi journalist, a member of the Waffen-SS and the interviewer of Adolf Eichmann in 1960
Jan Derksen (1919 in Geertruidenberg – 2011) a Dutch professional cyclist, world professional track sprint champion in 1946 and 1957
^"Postcodetool for 4941DX". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
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