City, originated on the western bank of the Vecht near the mouth of the peat stream Smal-Weesp. The dike village that was developed here in the 11th century was mentioned for the first time in 1150. At the beginning of the 13th century the village of Utrecht was destroyed by the Kennemer. Since 1317 it belongs to Holland.
Weesp became a trading place and a border fortress against the Sticht. The first buildings were built on the inside of the river dike (Hoogstraat). In the 14th century there was an earthen wall with the Grobbe (now Nieuwstraat) as a moat. Count William V granted some privileges in 1355, including the confirmation of a (presumably older) city law. Weesp was taken in 1356 and destroyed by the bishop of Utrecht. In 1401, Count Albrecht of Bavaria gave permission for a city extension and new defenses (Oude Gracht). The passage from the Vecht via the Smal-Weesp and the Gaasp to Amsterdam became important in the 15th century. Shortly after 1500 there was a lock at the mouth of the Smal-Weesp. Around 1550 the Middenstraat was laid.
In the 17th century the beer production and the cloth industry were eclipsed by the brandy distillery. The city expanded further in 1613 (Achtergracht) and 1647 (north and east). In the framework of the Hollandse Waterlinie a new wall was created in 1672-'73 with two bastions on the east bank of the Vecht. The flourishing brandy industry, consisting of a dozen mills and more than thirty distilleries, brought Weesp great prosperity in the 18th century. Thanks to the lime-poor Vechtwater, the linen bleachers and laundries were also important. On the occasion of the construction of the town hall (1772) the Grote Plein was created; the Grobbe was overcrowded and later subdued (1827, Nieuwstraat). The urban economy collapsed in the 19th century recovered with the arrival of the cocoa and chocolate factory C.J. van Houten, which was located in the west of the city center in 1850 and grew strongly in 1886-'91. On the north side, Weesp got a station on the Amsterdam-Amersfoort railway in 1874. This is where the so-called 'Amsterdamse Huizen' originated. In 1921 the 'Red Village' (Talmastraat) was realized.
When in 1923 the western part of the fort was removed, a small residential area (1924) arose on the northwest side after damping the outer moat.
The Kringenwet applied to the east and south sides of the city and also through the factory complex of Van Houten (west side) further growth possibilities were limited. Only part of the expansion plan developed by K. Breijer (1927-36) was realized. Only after the Second World War - with the lifting of the vesting status - could the 'plan South 1' (Ms E.F. van den Ban) be realized in 1950-52. Weesp was then expanded considerably on the north and south sides. The Noord industrial estate (1967) has been set up along the Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal. In the city center, the Achtergracht was filled in 1961. Weesp is a protected cityscape.
