Bergen op Zoom was granted city status probably in 1212. In 1287 the city and its surroundings became a lordship as it was separated from the lordship of Breda. The lordship was elevated to a margraviate in 1559. Several noble families ruled Bergen op Zoom in succession until 1795.

The city was built on a place where two types of soil meet: sandy soil and marine clay. The sandy soil pushed against the marine clay, accumulating and forming hills over several centuries. Those ‘hills’ are called Brabantse Wal, literally meaning ‘ramparts of Brabant’; Bergen in Dutch means mountains or hills and Zoom refers to the border of these ramparts.

Bergen op Zoom became a trading city and merchants from all over Europe came to the city to sell their goods. The beautiful historical buildings on the Grote Markt (Market Square) reflect the wealth of the city.

The city hall (right) is a late Gothic building, dating back to the year of 1398; several fires put the building to ashes; the current building with its late-Gothic façade, dates from 1611. In front of the town hall stands a statue of ‘Anton van Duinkerken’, a local writer, poet and professor (PiP2). Hotel De Draak (left) is the oldest hotel in the Netherlands and is at least dating back to 1397, when a fire almost burnt down the entire city, but the inn was one of the few buildings which survived. City archives turned into ashes and smoke during this city fire, but experts say that Hotel de Draak was at least 100 years old when the city fire emerged.