Geertruidenberg

Geertruidenberg takes its name from Saint Gertrude of Nivelles and stands near the meeting of the Donge and the Amer. Count William I of Holland granted it town rights in 1213, making it an early privileged town of his county. Its fortified centre became a place of trade and negotiation for counts and nobles, with a castle built nearby in the 1320s.

The Hook and Cod wars brought repeated sieges: in 1351 the town and castle supported opposing factions, and another siege in 1420 caused great damage. The Saint Elizabeth's flood of 1421 dealt a further blow to its prosperity. During the Dutch Revolt, a mixed English, French Huguenot and Flemish force took the town in 1573. Its English garrison surrendered it to Parma in 1589, but Maurice of Nassau recaptured it in 1593.