City, originated at the mouth of the Vecht in the Zuiderzee. In 953 the Bishop Balderik of Utrecht received from Emperor Otto I tolls on this busy trade route between the German hinterland and the North Sea. On the levees on both sides of the river Vecht a fishing village was created in the 10th century, which served as the outer harbor of Utrecht. In the 13th century, however, trade moved to Amsterdam. Muiden, which lay in the controversial border area between Utrecht and Holland, arrived in 1226 at the lord of Amstel.
Shortly after 1280, count Floris V founded the Muiderslot, where he was imprisoned in 1296, then murdered at Muiderberg. In 1317 Muiden became definitively Dutch. The previously granted city rights were confirmed at that time. The dike on the west bank (Weesperstraat-Helling) was built on both sides, which developed into a quay on the east bank (Herengracht). A bridge over the river Vecht was first mentioned in 1403. Because of silting off the coast, the growth decreased and Muiden became a border fortress against the Sticht.
In 1577 Muiden arrived in the Dutch camp and that year they started with the construction of a bastioned enclosure around Muiden and the Muiderslot. The city suffered from urban fires in 1564 and 1611. Stimulated by the construction of the Muider and the Naardertrekvaart (1641) - with mandatory transfer to Muiden - a new flowering period arose in the 17th century. Also important was the construction of the 'Grote Sluizen' (1674). As an industry, saltworks and shipbuilding were important, as was the gunpowder factory that was founded in 1703. Various explosions (including 1883, 1896, 1923 and 1972) made this factory a dubious pleasure. In the 18th and 19th centuries, little changed in the spatial structure. However, the fortifications were renewed in the framework of the New Dutch Water Line (circa 1850). With the completion of the Merwede Canal (1893), shipping diminished via Muiden.
In 1923 the western fortress was dissolved, after which the Singelstraat and surroundings were established (1927-'30). Around 1930 the through traffic disappeared from the center through the construction of a new, more southerly, Vecht bridge. Only after the Second World War did residential development arise outside the fortress. The mouth of the river Vecht was converted in 1950 into a large marina for the increasing water tourism. For the employees of the gunpowder factory, in 1954-'55 a district was built on the north-west side to plans
by W. Bruin (1943). Furthermore, Muiden has been extended on the southwest side (1966-'70) and the east side (1971-'75). In the city center, the old church has been cleared by remediation. At the site of the demolished salt factory Bouvy (Herengracht), houses have been built. The center of Muiden is a protected cityscape.
