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Gouda | |
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City and municipality | |
Panoramic view of the city City centre Historic town hall Port | |
Coordinates: 52°0′40″N 4°42′40″E / 52.01111°N 4.71111°E | |
Country | Netherlands |
Province | South Holland |
Government | |
• Body | Municipal council |
• Mayor | Pieter Verhoeve (SGP) |
Area | |
• Total | 18.11 km2 (6.99 sq mi) |
• Land | 16.50 km2 (6.37 sq mi) |
• Water | 1.61 km2 (0.62 sq mi) |
Elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
Population (January 2021)[3] | |
• Total | 73,681 |
• Density | 4,466/km2 (11,570/sq mi) |
Demonym | Gouwenaar |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Postcode | 2800–2809 |
Area code | 0182 |
Website | gouda.nl |
Gouda (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɣʌudaː] ) is a city and municipality in the west of the Netherlands, between Rotterdam and Utrecht, in the province of South Holland. Gouda has a population of 75,000 and is famous for its Gouda cheese, stroopwafels, many grachten, smoking pipes, and its 15th-century city hall. Its array of historic churches and other buildings makes it a very popular day-trip destination.
In the Middle Ages the Van der Goude family founded a settlement at the location of the current city and built a fortified castle alongside the banks of the Gouwe River, from which the family and the city took their names. Locals long called the settlement Ter Goude, or Tergou or Tergouw for short.[4] The area, originally marshland, developed over the course of two centuries.[timeframe?] By 1225, a canal was linked to the Gouwe and its estuary became a harbour. In 1272 Floris V, Count of Holland granted the city city rights.
Gouda werd vanouds 'Ter Goude' genoemd, of kortweg 'Tergou'. Deze naam betekent 'stad aan de Goude, dat wil zeggen: Gouwe'. [...] In het Nederlands bleef de naamsvorm 'Ter Goude' nog tot ver in de vroegmoderne tijd in gebruik.