Examples of Saxon Borg-towns in Twenthe, Part 1

There are eight examples of Saxon Borg-towns in Twenthe, that all share similar characteristics. Two of these never grew into a "proper town": Goor and Diepenheim. The other six - Oldenzaal, Rijssen, Ommen, Ootmarsum, Enschede and Delden - grew into small town that sometimes expanded considerably with the industrialisation of the late nineteenth century. Most however have remained small market towns often with an imposing castle or Havezate (Manor house) in close proximity.

Goor

On a stronghold near the marshland and moors surrounding the Regge river the seat of the Counts of Goor stood. They ruled the County of Twenthe on behalf of the Bishop of Utrecht an were important marshals. The counts lead the bishop's army on several occasion. The Borg also known as Huys te Gore was the official residence of the bishops in the county. As the location of the official residence the place was granted full city rights in 1263. So an earth bank was raised with wooden gates on  the 3 entrances to the Borg. The castle and the fledgeling town within the defences were completely destroyed by Gijsbrecht van Bronckhorst in 1348. It would never be rebuilt and the church (c) was relocated towards the watermill (m). The town hall (t) stood opposite the church. The settlement had no market square and developed beyond the moated site that served as a refuge in times of conflict.

The spatial pattern of Goor shows the former borg at some distance of the "new town" that grew around the watermill at the crossing of the river Regge. The place name "Goor" means marshland.

Diepenheim

The name Diepenheim also indicates the original landscape as it refers to a homestead (heim) on a deep canal or river (diep). On an artificial island in the Regge river, near a natural ford, a castle stood. In 1177 the castle on the moated site is destroyed and moved to a new site further west. In 1224 the manorial chapel was elevated to parish church. The Lord of the Manor promoted his settlement further by widening a street into a market and excavating a moat around this service settlement. This "market town" never received official city rights from the overlord (the Bishop of Utrecht) but served as a town nonetheless. It still sits as a small town surrounded by several country houses one of which is the successor to the old Huis te Diepenheim.

In Diepenheim the old stronghold is still visible as a more or less triangular section with the parish church (c) west of the town with its market (M). The new Manor house (h) is situated beyond the river on a moated site.

Oldenzaal

In the heart of this city lies an old freedom that is also the reason that a town and later a small city came into existence here. The clue lies in the name Oldenzaal which is Saxon for "The Old Hall" and refers to an enclosed Franconian manor where around 769 the travelling Monk Plechelm founded a church. In 954 the Bishop of Utrecht founds a collegiate chapter here and secures the old borg as a church freedom. In 1049 the settlement is granted the right to host a weakly (goods) market and 4 yearly  (cattle) markets. The wider town is then surrounded by a moat and a paling. Full city right are granted somewhere before 1240 and the town builds new defences; first an earth bank and later city walls with bastions and a double moat.   

Although basically a Borg-town Oldenzaal lacks the manor house and water mill in close proximity to the town. At the core stand the church of St Plechelm (c) and the Town hall (t) with 3 markets (M). This large number of markets combined with the presence of a hospital (H) indicated the status as a city.

Rijssen

This historic Borg-town has been changed beyond recognition by post-war interventions in the urban fabric. Originally a stronghold of the Counts of Dale Rijssen was granted city rights in 1243 by the bishop of Utrecht to balance the power in Twenthe  as a result of a disagreement with the Count in Goor. Immediately after the charter, with the city rights modelled on the Deventer-charter, was passed work starts in raising a high earth bank with paling and excavating a moat. The site of the town was strategically placed along an old thoroughfare on the transition of low-lying marsh (mors in Saxon) and higher ground. The town is located at some distance from the Regge river. In 1350 the town joins the Hanseatic League. Its status is also supported by the existence of a Richterambt (a Sheriff Court). Before 1334 the manor house is moved to a new site east of the town.

The residents (burgers) of the cities of Deventer, Hasselt, Kampen and Zwolle are decreed free travel through Twenthe by Bishop Johan van Diest in 1328. In his decree he also makes special mention of the Stalle to Risnen. Rijssen is thus defined as a station on a route through the County. For this an older site was used that lay just beyond the oldest borg-enclosure. The moated site was drawn into the 13th-century fortifications and thus doubly protected. Thus the Knightly Manor of Bevervoorde (Litterally Beaver ford) became an instalment for travellers across the region.

The pattern of Rijssen shows the iconic rounded shape of a Borg-town with a church (c) at the centre, with the town hall (t) opposite on the edge of the former stronghold. The new manor house (h) is situated outside of the defences. The watermill (m) is located on the outer moat (on the original Risse or watercourse that gave Rijssen its name). The market (M) is again a widened street, here just beyond the outer moat, the Havezate Bevervoorde (b) is located within creating a distinctive pattern that indicates a planned but never executed extension on the west side of the town.