The origin of the town of Oudewater is obscure and no information has been found concerning the first settlement of citizens.

The town was granted city rights in 1265 by Hendrik van Vianden, the bishop of Utrecht.

This was a meeting that laid down the origin of the State of the Netherlands, as we know it now, under the leadership of the House of Orange.

This happened at the beginning of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) when the Netherlands were still part of the Spanish Empire.

Oudewater is bordered by the municipalities of Montfoort (in the northeast), Lopik (southeast), Krimpenerwaard (southwest), and Bodegraven-Reeuwijk (northwest).

The weighing house, an official town building, became famous at the height of the European witch trials of the 16th century because people accused of witchcraft were offered a fair chance to prove their innocence, unlike in many other places, where the scales were rigged.

The weighings can be seen as a sign of the growing power of the citizenry as a third force next to that of the church and nobility.