City, originated on the northwest side of the Gooi near the Zuiderzee (now IJsselmeer). The Naarden, which was first mentioned around 900, was further north-east and received city rights around 1325. Around 1350 that Naarden was destroyed by Hoekse troops. Partly because of the increasing coastal defense, reconstruction continued further inland, for which Count William V granted permission in 1351. Because of its location on the sea dyke (Westdijk) between Naardermeer and Zuiderzee, Naarden gained great military significance. In 1355 the defensive belt was ready for the city and in 1403 Albrecht of Bavaria gave permission to construct a seaport.
Naarden was given an egg-shaped map with the regular street pattern of a 'bastide town' and with the Grote Kerk at its heart. The Marktstraat is in line with the seawall. The city developed well thanks to the textile industry and grew into the center of Het Gooi. After the capture of the city in 1572, Spanish troops killed a large part of the population. At the end of the 16th century, new fortifications were built up again. The construction of the Naardertrekvaart (1640-'42) and the postal route to Hamburg (1664) promoted trade. Because of the capture of Naarden by French troops in 1672 and the reconquest by Prince
William III a year later they began energetically with the construction of an imposing fortress with six bastions and two entrances (1673-'85). The now silted seaport was filled up. On the Gooise side, the higher sandy soils were dug to make inundations possible; the discharged sand went to Amsterdam for the city expansions there. On the eastern side of Naarden, the construction of the sea-protecting Oostdijk was necessary because of the excavation.
The vesting status prevented further development in the long term. The French era and the 19th century brought serious impoverishment and the demolition of dilapidated buildings. Bussum and Hilversum pursued Naarden economically. At some distance from the fortress, some buildings could arise from 1860, stimulated by the opening of the Naarden-Bussum station (1874) on the Amsterdam-Amersfoort railway line. The Kringenwet, however, only allowed wooden houses here. After 1900 they rose on the Sandtmannlaan, the Thierensweg and the Godelindeweg.
W.F. Nieuwstad designed a first expansion plan for the area to the south of the fortification (1912). It was only after the removal of the fortress in 1926 that housing in brick was possible everywhere, such as in the Wilhelminakwartier (circa 1930) and north of the Zwarteweg. In 1939 the fortress received a third access (Burg Van Wettumweg). After the Second World War, the entire area on the border with Bussum (Minister- and Rembrandtkwartier) was built up and Naarden on the west side was expanded at the Naardertrekvaart. In the center, the Grote Kerk was 'released' by remediation. The Naarden fortress is a protected sight.
