Editing Woerden (section)

=== Between bishop and count ===
[[File:Kasteel Woerden.jpg|thumb|Castle of Woerden]]
The Bishop of Utrecht received land grants, first from the Frankish kings, and later from the [[Kingdom of Germany|Kings of Germany]], in particular [[Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor]]. In 1024 AD, the bishops were made Princes of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] and the new [[Prince-bishopric of Utrecht]] was formed.

Around 1000 AD, settlement was limited to the river banks; further inland were undeveloped bogs. The bishops used their new authority to stimulate [[land reclamation|reclamation]] of this wilderness. [[contractual rights|Concession]]s were granted to settlers, who drained the bogs by digging dividing ditches beginning from rivers and streams and stretching about ¾ mile inland, thus creating the characteristic grid of fields still seen today. By about 1300 AD, the reclamation process had been completed.

In the meantime, a competing realm had developed to the west, along the coast. First known as [[West Frisia (historical)|West Frisia]] it became known as [[Holland]] when [[Floris II, Count of Holland]] moved his court to [[Leiden]] in 1101. The [[Count of Holland|Counts of Holland]] expanded their influence, and by 1165 they built a fort called Svadeburg, near present-day [[Zwammerdam]], about 7 miles to the west of Woerden. Around 1160, [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht|Bishop]] [[Godfrey van Rhenen]] built a [[castle]] in Woerden. Once more Woerden became a border town between two belligerent powers, a situation that lasted until 1527 when the [[Archdiocese of Utrecht (695–1580)|Bishop of Utrecht]] sold his territories to Emperor [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] and the two statelets were united under Charles' rule. Due to its strategic location on the border between the [[County of Holland]] and the [[Diocese|Bishopric]] of [[Utrecht (province)|Utrecht]], various wars have been fought in and around Woerden by the various lords and ladies of these realms.

From about 1131 to 1296, the van Woerden family dominated local affairs in Woerden. Several scions of the family are known as ''Herman van Woerden''. Originally they were stewards of the castle for the Bishop, but in time they sought to become independent. In 1274 [[Herman VI van Woerden]] formed an alliance with [[Gijsbrecht IV van Amstel]], and revolted against bishop-elect [[John I, Bishop-Elect of Utrecht|John of Nassau]]. In 1278, [[Floris V, Count of Holland]], intervened on the side of the much-weakened bishop, and defeated the rebellious lords. Gijsbrecht was taken prisoner, and Herman went into exile. In 1281, Floris V was awarded the lands of the rebellious lords, including [[History of Amsterdam|Amsterdam]] and Woerden. In a 1288 peace agreement Floris restored the [[Manorialism|Lordship]] of Woerden to Herman van Woerden, but now as a [[vassal]] of the count. However, Herman did not prove himself to be a trustworthy vassal: in 1296 the humiliated lords Gijsbrecht IV van Amstel and Herman van Woerden entered the scene again as part of a conspiracy. Together with Gerard van Velzen they captured count Floris during a hunting party and the count was assassinated. In the aftermath, Gerard van Velzen was killed, and Herman van Woerden went again into exile. In 1300, [[John II, Count of Holland]] awarded the Lordship of Woerden to his brother [[Guy of Avesnes]], who became Bishop of Utrecht the following year. In 1311, Guy returned the Lordship to his nephew, [[William I, Count of Hainaut|Count William III]], and Woerden remained part of Holland thereafter.

[[File:Woerden c1550map.jpg|thumb|left|Map of Woerden (c. 1557)]]
Around 1370 [[bailiff]] {{Interlanguage link multi|Willem II van Naaldwijk|nl}} ordered the construction of [[defensive wall]]s and a [[moat]] to [[fortification|fortify]] the city, in order to shield Holland from renewed hostilities with Utrecht. Woerden received [[City rights in the Low Countries|city rights]] from [[Albert I, Duke of Bavaria]], and Count of Holland in 1372, even though Woerden was still a small town that harboured no more than about 720 citizens. Around the same time the Petruschurch was built; part of its [[Steeple (architecture)|steeple]] still stands. In 1410 [[John III, Duke of Bavaria-Straubing]] had the castle of Woerden constructed, and in 1510 the city hall was built. These buildings still exist, although the castle was extensively altered and renovated through the years.

On 1 November 1425, Woerden chose the side of [[Philip the Good]] in the [[Hook and Cod wars#Jacqueline of Bavaria vs Philip of Burgundy (1417-1432)|conflict]] with [[Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut|Jacoba van Beieren]], after Philip confirmed the [[town privileges]] and promised that the [[Manorialism|Lordship]] of Woerden would never be separated from the County of Holland by awarding it to someone else. During the reign of the [[Dukes of Burgundy]], Philip the Good (1419&ndash;1467) and [[Charles the Bold]] (1467&ndash;1477) Woerden enjoyed an unprecedented period of peace, and by 1477 its population had almost tripled to about 1920. Charles the Bold's death before the gates of [[Nancy, France|Nancy]] was the prelude to renewed unrest, both with Utrecht and the duchy of [[Guelders]], and the town suffered economic hardship because of it.