Gouda, Municipality in South Holland, Netherlands
Gouda is a municipality in the province of South Holland, positioned between Rotterdam and Utrecht, that includes the historic town center and surrounding neighborhoods. The administrative unit consists of nine districts, among them Gouda Binnenstad, Bloemendaal, and Korte Akkeren, together forming an area with more than seventy thousand inhabitants.
The settlement received city rights in 1272 from Count Floris V, which granted it the status of a trading center along the Gouwe River. Over the following centuries, the town developed into a hub for cheese commerce and pottery production in the Holland region.
The municipality maintains official records of population statistics, showing 70,056 Dutch nationals, 2,642 European Union citizens, and 2,474 residents from other countries.
The municipal area is best explored on foot or by bicycle, with the historic center designed to be compact and pedestrian-friendly. Most public facilities and services are located in the town center, while the outer districts tend to be quieter and more residential.
The municipality spans different types of settlement, from densely built urban quarters to rural areas with meadows and waterways. This contrast is visible within a few kilometers, as the landscape shifts quickly from housing blocks to open fields.
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