Zutphen, The Netherlands von Maarten Kost

Zutphen, The Netherlands

Zutphen is a city in the Dutch province of Gelderland, located on the river IJssel. It is the capital of the municipality of Zutphen and has 38,970 inhabitants (2018).

The history of Zutphen covers more than 1700 years. At that time, Zutphen has grown from a Germanic settlement through an important power center around 1000 and a successful trading city around 1300 to a medium-sized city today. The city was granted city rights at the end of the twelfth century and joined the Hanseatic League. The Wapen van Zutphen still bears the symbols of a Hanseatic city.

In the late 9th century, Zutphen was destroyed during viking attacks, after which a round ring rampart was erected at the end of that century with a 20-meter wide U-shaped canal. The Groenmarkt, Houtmarkt and Zaadmarkt markets are still part of the former ring rampart and canal. In the mid-11th century, Zutphen became a royal residence for some time and a Palatinate was built. Shortly before that a church chapter was founded. The oldest Romanesque building phase of the collegiate church, the current Sint Walburgiskerk, was inaugurated in 1105. Since 1046, the bishop of Utrecht was lord of the Zutphen county and the burg. In the course of the late 11th century and the early 12th century, the counts of Zutphen were able to attract more and more power. Among the Gelderse graves, the burial city, which had been in Gelderland hands since 1138, quickly grew larger and more economically important