| Wouw | |
|---|---|
| — Village — | |
| Roosendaalsestraat in Wouw | |
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Wouw
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Province | North Brabant |
| Municipality | Roosendaal |
| Population (2006) | 4,900 |
Wouw is a village between the cities Roosendaal and Bergen op Zoom. It is situated in the southern Netherlands in the province of North Brabant. It is close to the border with Belgium.
Until 1997 Wouw was the seat of the municipality of Wouw. The municipality consisted of the villages of Wouw, Heerle, Wouwse Plantage and Moerstraten. Since 1997 Wouw has been a part of the municipality of Roosendaal.
In 2007 Wouw celebrated its 775 existence.
Between Wouw and Heerle there used to be a castle. This castle is first mentioned in 1379 as "Het Huis te Woude", which means: The House in Woude. (Woude=Wouw). It was a round castle surrounded by a body of water. This provided protection to its lord and its inhabitants. The grounds outside the castle were known to be very fertile and many farms were to be found there. The lord could see and thus supervise all the farmer's grounds from his castle. The lord also had a military role. For example, he fought in several battles.
After the discovery of gunpowder the inhabitants of the castle wouldn't be safe anymore. The castle is one of the first castles which was strengthened by fortifications. During the Eighty Years' War the castle was captured several times. As a consequence the inhabitants eventually fled. The castle was inhabited from 1583 till 1594. Since then the castle has had many uses but eventually it slowly vanished.
Nowadays nothing much can be seen of the castle. Plants have been planted on the foundation of the castle so you can still see where some of the buildings were.
In 2007, Wouw celebrated its 775th year of existence.