Craftsmen and craft lordship

Most of the rights have disappeared in recent centuries. What remained are the rights in rem, such as fishing, ownership of water and the use of a lord's bench in the church. The present amt lord owns some historic water in Zoetermeer such as the Voorwegwetering and part of Grote Dobbe and thus owns the fishing rights. The family coats of arms of the 18th-century craftsmen adorn the gentlemen's bench in the Oude Kerk at Dorpsstraat.

If you want to build or modify a bridge that crosses someone else's property, you will need permission from the owner. If it concerns a bridge that crosses the aforementioned water, please contact the craftsman via the e-mail address ambachtsheervanzoetermeer@gmail.com.

Middle Ages

In the Middle Ages, the county of Holland was divided into partially independent areas of jurisdiction or districts. Locally, the count appointed rulers, who were also allowed to exercise some of his rights. An amt fiefdom was an area in which the local lord could exercise jurisdiction in addition to all sorts of privileges. The bailiff of Rhineland was the highest judge here. Lower jurisdiction took place in the name of the 'ambachtsheren', for Zoetermeer and Zegwaart each a different one. The lords could also assert rights to a tenth of the crop yield, fishing and hunting rights, and they also appointed a large number of local officials. The bailiff, secretary and messenger depended on their appointment, but also the pastor, the schoolmaster, the church masters and the peat measurers. All aldermen and craftsmen, comparable to city council and aldermen, were appointed by them, and beer sellers and grocers, for example, were also dependent on the lord of the manor for the exercise of their profession.

Craftsman's rights

Amt lordly rights formally reverted to the count after the death of the amt lord, later to the States of Holland. Already in the Middle Ages, however, it was customary to pass the rights directly back to descendants of the previous lord. After 1600, the rights could even be sold provided, each time, with the consent of the States. In 1750, Joan Osy bought the artisanal rights of Zegwaart. In the 18th century, the Osy family used the Huis te Palenstein in Dorpsstraat as a country residence. Then they settled in Belgium. Over the years they disposed of their rights and properties.

The privileges of the amt fiefdom of Zoetermeer were considerable. So it is not surprising that the manor could be sold to Cornelis van Aalst in 1741 for the then hefty sum of 41,000 guilders. His nephews Gerardus and Henricus Schouten succeeded him in 1756 and called themselves Van Aalst Schouten. In the French Period the rights to appoint administrators by the lords of the crafts expired. After 1814 they were again allowed to appoint some officials, such as churchwardens and pastors, but those rights also disappeared in the 19th century. What remained were the rights in rem, such as fishing, ownership of water and the use of a pew in the church.

The amt lordship rights of Zoetermeer came into the possession of the Bos family through the Van Aalst Schouten family, who provided three mayors of Zoetermeer between 1827 and 1931. From 1758 the mayors occupied a large house at Dorpsstraat 1. Mayor Frits Bos died at a young age in 1931. The manor of Zoetermeer thus came into the possession of his widow Elisabeth Visser and has been owned by the Visser family ever since.