Editing Zutphen (section)

==History==
[[File:Nederland Gelderland Zutphen Snaphaan.jpg|left|thumb|"Snaphaanschelling" struck in Zutphen]]
[[File:Bor-Nederlantsche-Oorloghen 9166.tif|left|thumb|Zutphen taken by [[Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo, 4th Duke of Alba|Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo]] on 16 October 1572 during the [[Eighty Years' War]]]]
[[File:Zutphen 1649 Blaeu.jpg|thumb|left|1649 map of Zutphen in [[Willem Blaeu|Willem]] and [[Joan Blaeu]]'s "Toonneel der Steden"]]
[[File:Zutphen 1654.jpg|thumb|left|Zutphen (1654)]]
In about [[300|300 AD]], a [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] settlement was the first permanent town on a complex of the low river dunes. While many such settlements were abandoned in the early [[Middle Ages]], Zutphen, on the strategic confluence of [[IJssel]] and [[Berkel]], stayed. After the incorporation of the IJssel lands in [[Charlemagne]]'s [[Francia]], Zutphen became a local centre of [[governance]] under the [[Count of Zutphen]]. The [[Normans]] raided and ravaged it in [[882]]. Afterwards, a [[circular fortress]] was built to protect the budding town against [[Vikings|Viking]] attacks.

In the eleventh century, Zutphen was a royal residence for a number of years; a [[Kaiserpfalz|pfalz]] was built, together with a large [[chapter (religion)|chapter]] church, the predecessor of the present St. Walburgis. The counts of Zutphen acquired a lot of power until the line of counts became extinct in the twelfth century. After the death of her father and her brother, [[Ermengarde of Zutphen|Ermengarde]], the heiress of Zutphen married the count of [[Guelders]]; her son [[Henry I, Count of Guelders]] was the first to have both titles.

The settlement received [[town rights]] between 1191 and 1196, allowing it to self govern and have a judicial court. One of the oldest towns in the country, only [[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]] and [[Deventer]] preceded it in receiving town rights. Zutphen, in turn, became the mother town of several other towns in Guelders, such as [[Arnhem]], [[Doetinchem]], [[Doesburg]], [[Lochem]], [[Harderwijk]], [[Venlo]] and [[Emmerich am Rhein|Emmerich]]. It also became part of the [[Hanseatic League]], a group of towns with great wealth; this league was the economic centre in that part of [[Europe]].

During the 12th century, coins were minted in Zutphen by the Counts of Guelders and Zutphen: [[Henry I, Count of Guelders|Henry I]] ({{circa|1150}}–1181) and [[Otto I, Count of Guelders|Otto I]] (1182–1207). Although the city had [[Mint (coin)|minting]] rights for a few centuries, this was only actively used during four periods: 1478–1480, 1582–1583, 1604–1605 and 1687–1692.

The largest and oldest church of the city is the St. Walburgis ([[Saint Walpurga]]) church, which originally dates from the eleventh century. The present [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] building contains monuments of the former counts of Zutphen, a fourteenth-century [[candelabrum]], an elaborate copper [[baptismal font|font]] (1527), and a monument to the [[Van Heeckeren]] family (1700). The [[chapter-house]]'s library ({{interlanguage link|Librije (Zutphen)|lt=Librije|nl}}) contains a pre-[[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]] collection, including some valuable [[manuscript]]s and [[incunabulum|incunabula]]. It is considered one of only five remaining medieval libraries in Europe (in England and Italy). This [[chained library]]'s books are still chained to their ancient wooden desk – a custom from centuries ago, when the "public library" used chains to prevent theft.

Having been fortified, the town withstood several sieges, especially during the [[Eighty Years' War]], the most celebrated fight under its walls being the [[Battle of Zutphen]] in September 1586 when [[Sir Philip Sidney]] was mortally wounded. Taken by the Spanish in 1587 by the treachery of the English commander [[Rowland York]], Zutphen was recovered by [[Maurice of Nassau|Maurice, Prince of Orange]], in [[Siege of Zutphen (1591)|the 1591 siege]], and except for two short periods, one in 1672 and the other during the [[French Revolutionary Wars]], it has since remained a part of the Netherlands. Its fortifications were dismantled in 1874. In [[World War II]], the town was bombed several times by the allied forces because the bridge over the IJssel was vital to support the German troops at Arnhem after the [[Operation Market Garden]]. After two weeks of battle, the town was liberated on 14 April 1945. After the war, a renovation program started. Nowadays, Zutphen has one of the best-preserved medieval town centres of northwestern Europe, including the remains of the medieval town wall and a few hundred buildings dating from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries.