Monumental women

Our first power woman is a resistance fighter from the late 13th century. The counts of Holland and the bishops of Utrecht were constantly fighting over the area around IJsselstein. At that time, IJsselstein Castle was owned by Gijsbrecht van Amstel, lord of IJsselstein and marshal of the bishop of the Sticht Utrecht. He was married to Bertha van Heukelom. When Gijsbrecht was suspected of complicity on Count Floris V, the battle between Holland and Utrecht flared up.

Count Floris V's successor claimed Kasteel IJsselstein. He wanted to use the castle as a strategic point against Utrecht. But Gijsbrecht refused to relinquish and was imprisoned in Culemborg Castle. Bertha of Heukelom was also reluctant to leave hearth and home. According to Melis Stoke, Floris V's clerk, Bertha would not give up the castle for anything. Bertha defended the castle and even managed to hold out for a year!

Eventually she was forced to give up, in exchange for her husband Gijsbrecht. She had to hand over some of her men. Lots were to be drawn to determine who would be extradited, but Bertha devised a ruse and had the fallen men included in the lottery. The besiegers were stunned when it turned out that the castle was defended by only sixteen men. Thanks to her perseverance and her strong stance in negotiations, she was admired as a heroine.

Unfortunately for Bertha, her men were eventually killed or captured. Gijsbrecht was released, but he lost the castle.

The next woman on our list was a wealthy Amsterdam lady. Margaretha van Raephorst was the daughter of Matthijs Willemsz. van Raephorst and Aefje Gerritse Witsen. Her first husband, Joan van Hellemont, owned a country estate in 's-Graveland. After his death in 1665, she inherited his property. Two years later she married 37-year-old Cornelis Tromp, who had been her neighbor in 's-Graveland since 1666.

She was a good match for the laid-off seafarer, for Margaret had a large network of important connections, was in possession of two large tracts of land in 's-Graveland and took with her a considerable fortune. In 1674 her fortune was estimated at some 300,000 guilders.

Consequently, the wedding was extravagant. Both at the church and at Margaret's house on Amsterdam's Herengracht there was a large crowd of citizens and sailors. They cheered the brand-new bride and groom with "Vive Tromp!" (Long live Tromp).

From, among other things, her fortune, Buitenplaats Trompenburgh was built on one of Margaretha's pieces of land. Together with Tromp, she was the patron of this imposing building. That she had an equal - if not greater - role as patron was unusual for the ^17th century, given that many patrons were male.

Jacoba of Bavaria, a combative woman with an extraordinary story. She married no less than four times. At the age of five, she was already married off to John of Touraine. He died as early as 1417. Not long after that, her father died. Jacoba succeeded him as countess of Holland and Zealand and of Hainaut.

But that proved difficult, as she was not recognized by everyone as a countess. A year after the death of her first husband, Jacoba was married off again; to John IV, Duke of Brabant and Limburg. This turned out not to be a good match, as he had pawned her territory to her rival, John of Bavaria. Jacoba felt betrayed and had the marriage annulled in 1421. Her third husband, Humphrey of Gloucester, was not a success either. He did nothing when Jacoba was imprisoned in Ghent by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy.

Jacoba did not give in easily. In 1425, dressed in men's clothes, she managed to escape from captivity with the help of a number of noblemen. She fought against the Duke of Burgundy and managed to recapture Schoonhoven, among other things. On July 3, 1428, Jacoba made peace with the duke. By this "Kiss of Delft," Jacoba was allowed to continue to call herself countess of Holland and Zeeland, even though Philip the Good took control of the administration.

She married for the fourth time to Zeeland nobleman Frank van Borselen. He owned the Burcht Oostvoorne. Although Jacoba herself was not often to be found at the castle, the Burcht van Oostvoorne does carry the nickname 'Jacobaburcht'. The Ruins of Teylingen are also associated with Jacoba of Bavaria. This is where the countess spent the last years of her life. She died in this castle in 1436.

Benefactor Maria van Reygersbergh was born in Veere. She inherited a considerable fortune after the death of her father and married Willem van Liere (1620-1654), who, incidentally, was not exactly impecunious himself.

In 1655, a year after her husband's death, Maria van Reygersbergh obtained the administration and management of both Katwijk districts and 't Zand and became the "lady of Catwijck. Although she exchanged Katwijk for a house on Lange Voorhout in The Hague in 1662, she remained committed to both Katwijken and 't Zand until her death in 1673. In 1666, for example, she had a bridge built across the Rhine, which made the area more accessible and allowed trade to grow. The Lady of Katwijk also interfered with the finances of the local orphanage. For example, she stipulated that a certain percentage of the proceeds from the fish trade should go into the orphanage's coffers.

In 1663, the tomb that Mary had commissioned for her husband in the church of Katwijk was completed. However, the sculpture, by the hand of Rombout Verhulst, shows not only the laid-up body of Willem van Liere. Mary, in an erect posture, later depicted herself next to her husband. The commissioning of such a monument by a woman was unusual for that time. Ten years later, Maria's body was interred in the crypt beneath the monument.

The last woman on our list recently appeared in the Verhaal van Nederland: Amalia van Solms. In 1625, she married Frederick Henry (1584-1647). Frederick Henry succeeded Maurice of Orange as stadholder, captain general of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland and Overijssel as well as prince of Orange.

Although Amalia had no official position as stadholder's wife, she was given a key function at the Hague court. When Frederick Henry was on campaign, Amalia kept him informed of what was going on in the court city. From about 1640, her position became even stronger, when Frederick Henry was no longer able to make important decisions due to illness. Amalia built a position of power for herself and exerted influence on both domestic and foreign policy. Anyone who wanted to get something done with the stadholder had to report to Amalia. In the last months of his life, Frederick Henry even asked the States General to officially appoint his wife as his deputy. The States General did not agree to this. But Amalia was still involved in historic moments, such as the Peace of Münster (1648). For her efforts, the Spaniards gave her the seignory of Turnhout as a gift.

Amalia, together with her husband, had several palaces built in The Hague and its surroundings. By doing so, Frederick Henry and Amalia introduced French classicism to the Republic. One of those palaces was the Huis ter Nieuburch in Rijswijk. Frederick Hendrik had it recorded in his will in 1644 that after his death his "much-loved Huysvrouwe" was allowed to live in "the Huys by Ryswyk. However, Amalia preferred The Hague to Rijswijk, and leased the property. After her death, her grandson Willem III (1650-1702) inherited it. The palace was largely vacant, but was used in 1697 for the peace negotiations for the Peace of Rijswijk. At the end of the 18th century, the palace was demolished. Stadholder William V had a memorial to the Peace of Rijswijk placed on the site of the palace in 1792. Material from the former palace was used in this Needle of Rijswijk.