Market towns in the Low Countries

One of the city rights was the right bestowed on a settlement to organise markets. In most cases all the legal rights were bestowed on a settlement making it a city (stad). In the Low Countries no distinction was made between cities and towns. Some cities however were never fortified -Oisterwijk, St Oedenrode, Schagen, Hoogstraten, Poperinge to name a few- and could thus be equated to towns. Another category of settlements without fortifications are the market towns.

Market rights were designated in early medieval times. In 800 Charlemagne granted market rights to Esslingen am Neckar. The conferment of market rights was one of the regalia in the Holy Roman Empire and persisted throughout the centuries that followed. The modern-day Low Countries were part of the Holy Roman Empire as a collection of territories: Holland, Zealand, Utrecht, Guelders, Drenthe, Frisia, Groningen (together the seven United Netherlands after 1581), Flanders, Brabant, Hainault, Namur, Liège and Luxemburg. Parts of what is now the Netherlands were part of Juliers. With the rise of these territories the Dukes, Prince-Bishops and Counts made good use of their ability to designate market rights under German Law.

In the Low Countries it is evident that most settlements that were granted market rights were also granted other city rights. In a few areas in Frisia, Brabant, Hainault and Holland market towns were created to encourage business and trade to be concentrated in certain places and thus develop the territory. The people in the town often had a monopoly over the trade or purchase of certain wares. Commercial privileges included bull markets, horse markets, butter markets, cheese markets, cloth markets and so on. Most market towns look like villages with the exception of the presence of a large market square and specialized non-rural buildings.

The market towns are clearly a minority in the Low Countries compared to the cities. The market towns are also clearly aggregated in certain areas. The market towns around The Hague stand out together with the Frisian market towns and the central Brabantian market towns. The market towns in Hainault are less distinct in distribution but clearly visible.   

More winter blooms

The mild winter this year has meant that plants known to flower in the wintertime actually are! Winter jasmine, as the name suggests, flowers between November and March. The bright yellow flowers are born on bare stems. The Lenten rose (middle) is not related to roses at all. Like its close cousin the Christmas rose it is part of the Buttercup family. They flower in early spring around the time of Lent, hence the name. This year the flowers came early! This variegated Hebe 'Waireka' normally flowers in spring and summer, but its position against a south wall and the mild winter have spurred it on, giving these midwinter flowers.

Fortified cities in the Low Countries

One of the most discernible characteristic of historic cities is that they are in some way fortified. Te right to erect defenses was an important city right that also directly freed the people within that enclosure of certain feudal laws and obligations. Some cities grew up around older fortifications such as castles and hill forts. This is especially true of the hilly areas of the Low Countries. In most of the area that comprises Luxemburg, Belgium and the Netherlands cities were actively founded by the feudal lord, sometimes as a payback for a service granted by a community, but mostly to expand the economic activity within his lands. The oldest cities to be granted city rights were Namur, Thuin, Tongeren and Tournai (in Belgium) and Luxemburg City in the tenth century. The first city with a charter within the Netherlands was Stavoren on the Vlie river in Frisia in 1058. Most cities were founded during the 13th, 15th and 16th centuries.

The earliest cities especially in the low lying areas were protected by a combination of earth banks and ditches. The bank would be topped with a palisade. Only in those areas where natural stone was available -Luxemburg, the east of Belgium and the far most southeast of the Netherlands- would stone walls be constructed. The exact nature of the cities fortification would depend on the resources available, the lay of the land and the drainage situation. Cities built in a flood plain would build wide defensive moats and high earthworks rather than heavy and expensive stone walls. As military force developed stronger defenses needed to be constructed resulting in the erection of brick walls behind or on top of an embankment. In most cases an area on both sides of the city wall would be kept clear to provide for better movement for the defenders on the inside and a better view of the enemy on the outside. In a water rich location there would be a secondary ditch on the inside of the walls.

As military techniques developed the old wall became of little use to the new cannons using gunpowder. In the post-medieval period elaborate defensive schemes were developed in the Low Countries and France. The old walls became the backdrop of complex systems of fortifications with earth banks, dry moats, wet moats and brick walls. The evolution of this new style of fortification started in northern Italy and was quickly picked up by Dutch and French engineers. In the new system walls were lowered and replaced or curtained with wide earth banks. In front of the inner defenses ravelins and ramparts were constructed with ditches. The fortifications spread outward with protected batteries for cannons. The engineers placed a heavy emphasis on geometry, to allow for interlocking fields of fire, resulting in star shaped fortifications with multtiered hornworks, bastions, ravelins and bulwarks dissected by wet and dry moats. 

All important cities in the Low Countries were mantled with star shaped fortifications. The two most important designers, each having their own system, were the Flemish Simon Stevin, the Dutch Menno van Coehoorn and the French Sebastian Le Prestre de Vauban. In some cases market towns and villages would be fortified to provide a strategic stronghold. Famous examples include Couvorden, Bourtange, Stevensweert, Arcen, Den Helder, Blokzijl, Oudeschans, Nieuweschans, Willemstad, Hellevoetsluis, Fort Bath, Terneuzen, Retranchement, Zandvliet, Zevekote, Lo, Wervik, Menen, Baumont, Walcourt, Philippeville,  Mariembourg and Vitron.

Most of the medieval cities were fortified, these are shown with the orange outline. Some cities never built walls or defenses; sometimes only a wooden gate would be erected to indicate the city limits. Especially around the edges of the Low Countries star forts (shown as solid orange blocks) were developed from a village of market town.

Winter blooms

The mild weather in the past months has meant that plants known to flower in the winter time actually are! Snowdrops will brave snow and cold weather but stand out a lot better against the browns and greens of this year's winter. The Camellia has been a favourite of gardeners ever since they were first brought from the far east. Before then they were only known from depictions on porcelain and in art and thought to be fantastical flowers born from the artists mind. Most are not very hardy but this white Camellia has even survived the past severe winters and is looking especially glossy and healthy this winter season. The Laurestine (Viburnum tinus) is widely grown for its fragrant winter flowers in places with mild winters. This bush, planted against a wall, seems to be perfectly happy and is flowering profusely this year.

Water cities in the Low Countries

The Low Countries are well known for their water-rich historic cities. Many old cities are located on water, especially rivers. There are 285 places with historic city rights in the Low Countries. This is not including market towns (Smalsteden en Vrije Steden) and freedoms (Vrijheden). Of the 191 settlements with city rights in the Netherlands no less than 158 are located on water. Of these 8 cities are located on a canal (Delft being the most famous). 34 cities are located on the sea or an inlet. All of these were important trade cities such as Flushing (Vlissingen), Horn (Hoorn) and Stavers (Stavoren). The rest of the water cities are all located along rivers. Only 33 cities are located on a large river, i.e. the Rhine, Leck, Meuse, New Meuse, IJssel and Waal. The other 63 cities are located on a smaller river. The cities of Utrecht and Leiden belong in this category as the Kromme Rijn / Oude Rijn (Crooked Rhine and Old Rhine) they are located on has been dammed (1122) after silting up. Other examples include Gouda (Gouwe), Breda (Aa), Bois-le-Duc (Dommel), Buren (Korne), Leerdam (Linge), Woerden (Oude Rijn), Weesp (Vecht), Amersfoort (Eem), Zwolle (Zwarte Water) and Groningen (Drentse Aa).

Of the 93 settlement with historic city right in Belgium only 14 are not located on water. The best known of these being the city of Spa. Of the 79 cities located on water 5 are situated on a canal (Damme, Gistel and Veurne) or an empoldered inlet of the sea (Oostende and Nieuwpoort). Only 12 cities are located near a large river. In contrast to the Netherlands only two large rivers flow through Belgium: the Scheldt and Meuse. Especially in the hilly east cities located on a river are situated on higher ground and not in the floodplain (Liège being a well known example). Most cities, however, are located in the low-lying parts of the country -thus following the same pattern as in the Netherlands. 66 cities are located along smaller rivers. Most of these cities are located in the floodplain of medium size rivers like Demer, Dender, Leie, Nete and Zenne. This category includes famous cities like Bruges, Ghent, Halle, Louvain, Brussels, Mechlin and Ypres. Only a few cities are located on higher ground along medium sized river like Lesse, Sambre and Vesdre. Well known are Rochefort, Mons and Namur.

In Luxemburg all historic cities (8) are located in high ground near a river, more often than not in a river bend. The cities of Remich and Grevenmacher are located on a large river (the Moselle), all others are situated on a smaller river. The most famous being Luxemburg City on the Alzette, Vianden on the Our and Diekirch on the Sûre.

A map of the Low Countries showing all the historic settlements with city rights. Those cities not situated along water are indicated in red. The cities located on the sea or on an inlet -shown as a blue ring- are all located in Zealand and the Flemish coast and around the former Zuiderzee. The cities on a canal (light blue dot) closely follow the distribution coastal cities, except for Winschoten. In dark blue the cities along major rivers are shown. Most cities are situated along small rivers - indicated here in bright blue.