Yes indeed, the Gouda cheese does originate from Gouda. In the old days farmers came once a week downtown to sell their “yellow gold”. Still today, this weekly market is celebrated, nowadays as a tourist attraction. Those who flew with Dutch Airline KLM for sure are familiar with the “stroopwafel”. The cradle of this cookie with caramel between the two layers stood in Gouda. 

Hard to imagine that a town with less than a hundred thousand inhabitants once surpassed Amsterdam in both population and wealth. Gouda’s golden age was the period 1400-1600 when  trade between Holland and Flanders was massive. Thus, the shipping route between these two regions belonged to the most important ones of Europe. You guess it, Gouda was at the center of this “ship’s highway”. After 1600, due to political problems, the trade came to an end, the party was over. The city hall and the St Jans church still testify of the wealth once bestowed on Gouda.