Editing Geertruidenberg (section)

==History==
Geertruidenberg is named after [[Gertrude of Nivelles|Saint Gertrude of Nivelles]].

In 1213, Sint Geertruidenberg (English: "Saint Gertrude's Mountain") received [[City rights in the Low Countries|city rights]] from [[William I, Count of Holland|Count William I of Holland]]. The fortified city became a trade center, where counts and other nobility gathered for negotiations. In 1323–1325, [[Geertruidenberg Castle]] was constructed very close to the city center. 

During the [[Hook and Cod wars]], the city chose the Cod side in 1351, while the castle remained on the Hook side. This led to the 1350–1351 [[Siege of Geertruidenberg (1351–1352)|Siege of Geertruidenberg]]. In 1420 a similar siege during a later Hook and Cod war caused huge damage to the city. The [[St. Elizabeth's flood (1421)|Saint Elizabeth's flood]] of 1421 then ended the prosperity of Geertruidenberg.<ref name="history">{{cite web
 |title      = Vroeger en nu
 |work       = Geertruidenberg Municipality Website
 |publisher  = Municipality of Geertruidenberg
 |url        = http://www.geertruidenberg.nl/index.php?simaction=content&mediumid=1&pagid=63&fontsize=10
 |access-date = 2008-08-16
 |language   = nl
}}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In 1573, during the [[Eighty Years War]], the city [[Capture of Geertruidenberg (1573)|was captured]] in a surprise attack by an English, French Huguenot and Fleming force. In 1589 however [[Capture of Geertruidenberg (1589)|the city was betrayed]] to [[Alessandro_Farnese,_Duke_of_Parma_and_Piacenza|Parma]] by its English garrison.<ref>Israel, Jonathan (1995), The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477–1806, Clarendon Press, Oxford, {{ISBN|0-19-873072-1}}, p. 234</ref> It was [[Siege of Geertruidenberg (1593)|finally recaptured]] by an Anglo-Dutch force under the command of [[Maurice of Nassau]] in the summer of 1593.

Today, Geertruidenberg is part of the province of [[North Brabant]], but it was once part of the county of [[Holland]]. Geertruidenberg is the second oldest city of Holland as it was the first to receive city rights. It is a common misconception that Geertruidenberg is the oldest city of the Netherlands, because the names Holland and the Netherlands are used interchangeably by some.