Goejanverwellesluis
Encyclopedia
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
in Hekendorp
Hekendorp
Hekendorp is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Oudewater, and lies about 6 km east of Gouda....
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. The 'Goejannen' - the men from the surrounding polder
Polder
A polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments known as dikes, that forms an artificial hydrological entity, meaning it has no connection with outside water other than through manually-operated devices...
s who went to sea - said their last farewells by this channel.
According to the tradition, Wilhelmina of Prussia
Wilhelmina of Prussia, Princess of Orange
Wilhelmina of Prussia, born Frederika Sophia Wilhelmina, , was the consort of William V of Orange and also the de facto leader of the dynastic party and contra revolution in the Netherlands...
, wife of stadholder William V
William V, Prince of Orange
William V , Prince of Orange-Nassau was the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, and between 1795 and 1806 he led the Government of the Dutch Republic in Exile in London. He was succeeded by his son William I...
was captured here on 28 June 1787 by the Patriots
Patriots (faction)
The Patriots were a political faction in the Dutch Republic in the second half of the 18th century. They were led by Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol, gaining power from November 1782....
from Gouda
Gouda
Gouda is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Gouda, which was granted city rights in 1272, is famous for its Gouda cheese, smoking pipes, and 15th-century city hall....
. In reality, her entourage were arrested at Bonrepas
Bonrepas
Bonrepas is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Vlist, and lies about 11 km southeast of Gouda....
on the river Vlist, on the way to Schoonhoven
Schoonhoven
Schoonhoven is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality has a population of 12,195 , and covers an area of 6.96 km²...
near Haastrecht
Haastrecht
Haastrecht is a town on the Hollandse IJssel river in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Vlist, and lies about 5 km east of Gouda.In 2001, the town of Haastrecht had 3302 inhabitants...
. Wilhelmina was at a farm overhanging the Goejanverwellesluis, where Cornelis Johan de Lange, commander of the free corps of Gouda, had been billeted. Informed of her plans by the gentleman Martinus van Toulon, former bailiff
Bailiff
A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...
of Gouda, the Commission of Defense stopped her from driving on to Gouda that night. The princess left the very same evening after 10pm in the direction of Schoonhoven and turned back to her spouse stadholder William V at Nijmegen. This event formed the main reason for the Prussians' raid into Holland, with Frederick William II of Prussia
Frederick William II of Prussia
Frederick William II was the King of Prussia, reigning from 1786 until his death. He was in personal union the Prince-Elector of Brandenburg and the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel.-Early life:...
coming to his sister Wilhelmina's aid and so making possible William's return to the Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
. This raid led to an exodus of the Patriots from the United Republic of the Seven Netherlands in 1787.
A foot ferry at Goejanverwellesluis was replaced by the Wilhelmina van Pruisen Bridge in 1992.
Literature
- Wildschut, A., Goejanverwellesluis; de strijd tussen patriotten en prinsgezinden, 1780-1787 (2005; ISBN 9065504508)
- Smit, dr.mr.J., Een regentendagboek uit de achttiende eeuw, Oudheidkundige kring "Die Goude", 1957