The Prince William III cruising route

In the defence of the Old Dutch Waterline, Woerden occupied a central position, partly due to its strategic location on the Old Rhine.

Woerden was the seat of the Great Water Board of Woerden. Prince William III decreed the inundation of the surrounding polders here and sailed a boat from the water board past his troops stationed along the banks of the Rhine. The forts at Nieuwerbrug, Bodegraven and Zwammerdam and Alphen aan den Rijn were to close off the road to Leiden and the rest of Holland. Unfortunately, Woerden was soon occupied by the French, but several times Prince Willem III tried to unseat the town. On the night of 12 October 1672, this led to a horrific battle at De Kruipin. This was a strategically located point near the Oude Rijndijk on the north-east side of Woerden. Over 2,000 Frenchmen and 600 Dutchmen died, including William III's uncle Frederick of Nassau-Zuylestein. The French did not succeed in capturing Woerden. Woerden remained a French base of operations and in December the French general Luxembourg would make another attempt to invade Holland from Woerden over a frozen Waterline.

The audio sailing route can be accessed online and offline via Izi.Travel. If you prefer to sail without your phone, you can download the PDF version here.

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