Coevorden

Coevorden guarded the route between Groningen and Münster, making its castle and fortified town important in the affairs of Drenthe. Its hereditary lords repeatedly challenged the bishops of Utrecht. In 1227 Rudolf II of Coevorden led local forces to victory at Ane, where Bishop Otto of Lippe was killed; Rudolf himself was captured and killed three years later.

The bishops ended the hereditary castellany in 1402, and Bishop Frederick granted Coevorden town rights in 1408. In the sixteenth century control passed between Guelders and the Habsburgs. Maurice of Orange captured the fortress from Spain in 1592, and it survived a renewed Spanish siege in 1593–1594. Its defences and radial streets were rebuilt in the form of a planned fortress town, suited to the demands of early modern warfare.