Water cities in the Low Countries

The Low Countries are well known for their water-rich historic cities. Many old cities are located on water, especially rivers. There are 285 places with historic city rights in the Low Countries. This is not including market towns (Smalsteden en Vrije Steden) and freedoms (Vrijheden). Of the 191 settlements with city rights in the Netherlands no less than 158 are located on water. Of these 8 cities are located on a canal (Delft being the most famous). 34 cities are located on the sea or an inlet. All of these were important trade cities such as Flushing (Vlissingen), Horn (Hoorn) and Stavers (Stavoren). The rest of the water cities are all located along rivers. Only 33 cities are located on a large river, i.e. the Rhine, Leck, Meuse, New Meuse, IJssel and Waal. The other 63 cities are located on a smaller river. The cities of Utrecht and Leiden belong in this category as the Kromme Rijn / Oude Rijn (Crooked Rhine and Old Rhine) they are located on has been dammed (1122) after silting up. Other examples include Gouda (Gouwe), Breda (Aa), Bois-le-Duc (Dommel), Buren (Korne), Leerdam (Linge), Woerden (Oude Rijn), Weesp (Vecht), Amersfoort (Eem), Zwolle (Zwarte Water) and Groningen (Drentse Aa).

Of the 93 settlement with historic city right in Belgium only 14 are not located on water. The best known of these being the city of Spa. Of the 79 cities located on water 5 are situated on a canal (Damme, Gistel and Veurne) or an empoldered inlet of the sea (Oostende and Nieuwpoort). Only 12 cities are located near a large river. In contrast to the Netherlands only two large rivers flow through Belgium: the Scheldt and Meuse. Especially in the hilly east cities located on a river are situated on higher ground and not in the floodplain (Liège being a well known example). Most cities, however, are located in the low-lying parts of the country -thus following the same pattern as in the Netherlands. 66 cities are located along smaller rivers. Most of these cities are located in the floodplain of medium size rivers like Demer, Dender, Leie, Nete and Zenne. This category includes famous cities like Bruges, Ghent, Halle, Louvain, Brussels, Mechlin and Ypres. Only a few cities are located on higher ground along medium sized river like Lesse, Sambre and Vesdre. Well known are Rochefort, Mons and Namur.

In Luxemburg all historic cities (8) are located in high ground near a river, more often than not in a river bend. The cities of Remich and Grevenmacher are located on a large river (the Moselle), all others are situated on a smaller river. The most famous being Luxemburg City on the Alzette, Vianden on the Our and Diekirch on the Sûre.

A map of the Low Countries showing all the historic settlements with city rights. Those cities not situated along water are indicated in red. The cities located on the sea or on an inlet -shown as a blue ring- are all located in Zealand and the Flemish coast and around the former Zuiderzee. The cities on a canal (light blue dot) closely follow the distribution coastal cities, except for Winschoten. In dark blue the cities along major rivers are shown. Most cities are situated along small rivers - indicated here in bright blue.