Harderwijk, The Netherlands

Sunday 13th April 2014

Harderwijk is a municipality and a small city almost at the exact geographical center of the Netherlands.Harderwijk received city rights from Count Otto II of Guelders in 1231. A defensive wall surrounding the city was completed by the end of that century. The oldest part of the city is near where the streets Hoogstraat and Grote Poortstraat are today. Around 1315 the city was expanded southwards, which included the construction of what is now called the Grote Kerk (Large Church). A second, northward expansion took place around 1425. Particularly along the west side of town much of the wall still exists, although often not in entirely original form. This also goes for the only remaining city gate, the picturesque Vischpoort.