725 years of Wijk bij Duurstede (1300): Proud of Wijk!

In 2025, a grand celebration was held for the residents of Wijk bij Duurstede. WIJK725 is the celebration of the 725th anniversary of Wijk bij Duurstede's city rights. The anniversary year starts on January 1, 2025, and various festivities and events will take place throughout the year. You can find everything that has been organized in the link at the end of the blog. But what do you know about Wijk bij Duurstede? Or do you know the city as Dorestad, from that famous school poster and the Vikings?

Wijk bij Duurstede

Wijk bij Duurstede is a fortified town in the south of the province of Utrecht. The municipality has 23.712 inhabitants (CBS: January 1, 2026). The waterways Nederrijn, Lek, Kromme Rijn, and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal flow through and past Wijk bij Duurstede. The municipality borders the municipalities of Houten, Bunnik, Utrechtse Heuvelrug, Culemborg, and Buren.

 

Flag of Wijk bij Duurstede

The flag was adopted by the municipality by council resolution on April 27, 1971. The colors are the same as the colors used in the coat of arms of Wijk bij Duurstede. The flag can be described as follows: Two horizontal stripes of equal height, red and yellow; in the red stripe stand three white columns, evenly distributed along the length of the flag.

The colors and the columns are derived from the municipal coat of arms. The design was by the municipality itself.

 

Coat of arms of Wijk bij Duurstede

The town of Wijk, situated near Duurstede Castle, obtained city rights around 1300 from Gijsbrecht II van Abcoude, son of Zweder van Zuylen and married to an heiress of Abcoude. The town coat of arms is derived from that of the Van Abcoude family. The three columns originate from the coat of arms of the Van Zuylen family. The coat of arms, without a crown and shield bearers, has been used on city seals at least since 1512. The coat of arms, including the crown and shield bearers, was requested by the mayor in 1816. Since the municipal reorganization of 1996 (addition of Cothen and Langbroek), the municipality has used a logo in its communications instead of the municipal coat of arms. As far as is known, the municipal coat of arms is still formally granted to Wijk bij Duurstede.

Arms: Gold, charged with a fess of red, upon which are three columns of silver. The arms surmounted by a crown with five fleurons, all gold, and held on either side by a rampant lion in its natural color.

 

Wijk bij Duurstede (history and future)

During the Roman era, a Roman castellum, possibly Levefanum, was located on the Rhine at the site of present-day Wijk bij Duurstede. The northern border (limes) of the Roman Empire also ran straight through Wijk bij Duurstede.

In the early Middle Ages, one of the most important trading centers of Northwest Europe must have been located here: DorestadFor a long time it was assumed that this city succumbed to attacks by the around 850. VikingsNowadays, a combination of natural and (church) political factors, together with shifting power dynamics, is seen as a more likely explanation for the decline of Dorestad. The Rhine bed is believed to have shifted slightly, while the harbor began to silt up around the same time. Furthermore, there was a rise in water levels. The decline of Dorestad marked a period of prosperity for Tiel, Deventer, and later Utrecht, which now had free rein. Many artifacts from these historical periods have been discovered in and around Wijk bij Duurstede, which are on display at Museum Dorestad.

Wijk bij Duurstede was granted city rights by Gijsbrecht van Abcoude in 1300. The town was built around a residential tower constructed in 1270, which would grow into Duurstede Castle. Probably shortly thereafter, the construction of an earthen rampart and moat began to defend the city, with the old riverbeds being partially utilized for the moat. In the mid-14th century, the city was expanded eastward, and presumably during the same period, the city was provided with a city wall featuring city gates (such as the Veldpoort) and fortification towers. The city wall and moat were renewed around 1445.

On January 1, 1996, a major municipal reorganization took place. The then municipality of Wijk bij Duurstede was merged with the independent municipalities of Cothen and Langbroek. Since this merger, these three centers together form one large municipality under the name Wijk bij Duurstede. As a result of the merger, the municipality's territory was significantly enlarged, and since then it extends across the rural area between the River Lek, the Kromme Rijn, and the Utrechtse Heuvelrug.

 

St. John the Baptist Church

St. John the Baptist Church on the Market Square in the old city center, a medieval pseudo-basilica with a late Gothic tower that was intended to have three sections, modeled after the Utrecht Cathedral Tower, of which, however, only the lowest and a small part of the middle section were completed. The church houses the Kiespenning organ from 1631 and the Harrison & Harrison organ from 1883. In the south transept stands a small organ by the organ builders Van Vulpen; the case was made by Friedrichs.

 

Dorestad Fibula (PostEurop 2025)

The collaborating postal companies in Europe have been issuing stamps with a common theme for more than 65 years. Since 2002, a design competition has been associated with this issue: the EUROPA stamp best design competition. The competition is organized by PostEurop, the organization in which all European national postal companies collaborate. The theme for the common European stamp issue for 2025 is 'National Archaeological Discoveries'. In connection with this theme, PostNL is issuing the Fibula of Dorestad stamp sheet on May 9, 2025.

One of the most famous archaeological finds in our country is the 8,5 cm Dorestad fibula. The brooch was made around 800 AD. In 1969, the fibula was found in a well dating from the time of Dorestad, where Wijk bij Duurstede is now located. During the reign of Charlemagne of the Franks (768-814), Dorestad was the largest and wealthiest trading city in the Netherlands. The gold fibula is inlaid with various colors of glass, almandine gemstones, pearls, and enamel. Over time, some stones have disappeared, as has the pin on the back. Various shapes can be recognized in the inlay work, such as crosses, volutes, and a small tree with leaves and fruit. The crosses formed by the gemstones and the pearls likely indicate that the brooch was worn as subtle propaganda for the increasingly popular Christianity in the Netherlands at the time. Round fibulas were worn primarily by ladies, and especially high-ranking ladies propagated the new faith. The style of the Dorestad fibula is that of ecclesiastical goldsmithing, made in Burgundian workshops from the time of Charlemagne. The fibula, one of the masterpieces of the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, is included in the Canon of the Netherlands under the theme Charlemagne.

The fibula is made of gold, which naturally called for the issuance of a gold stamp.

 

Thanks to Peter Janssen of www.frankeerstempel.nl for the stamps in this blog.

 

<strong> More info: </strong>

725 years of Wijk bij Duurstede: https://wijk725.nl/

Dorestad Museum: https://www.museumdorestad.nl/