Magical Delft

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Town Hall #2, Grote Markt

View of Delft’s town hall, seen from the New Church. Every Thursday is a market day in Delft, which attracts many visitors from the region. In the city hall’s tower you can visit the former prison, where William of Orange’s assassin was tortured, before being executed in public on July 14, 1584.

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City of bikes #1

Delft is not only famous for William of Orange, Johannes Vermeer and Delft Blue pottery, but also for its many bikes, which are the main means of transportation of many citizens and students.

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Museum Paul Tétar van Elven, Koornmarkt

One of the best preserved interiors in the Netherlands can be found in Museum Paul Tétar van Elven at the Koornmarkt in Delft. It was the residence of the Dutch artist and collector Paul Tétar van Elven, who lived here from 1864 until 1894. The museum boasts a large collection of Delftware, oriental porcelain, antiquities, paintings, portraits and copies of old masters. He bequeathed his work, collection and house by will to the city of Delft. The museum opened in 1926, after the death of his second wife.

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Terracotta knight, Oude Delft

On the wall next to the Gemeenlandshuis you can find this terracotta knight. This replica was made by the Delft artist Jan Kistemaker and ceramist Ankie Bonnet and was put into place in 2008. The original statue was found during archeological research in 1991, on the construction site of a parking garage near the Delfland office. It was manufactured in Delft in the 13th century, by a producer of roof tiles, probably commissioned by a rich merchant. The knight served as an ornament and status symbol.

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Prinsenhof, Sint Agathaplein

The Prinsenhof (“Court of the Prince”) in Delft was built in the Middle Ages as a monastery, called Sint-Agathaklooster. Later it became the residence of William of Orange, who was assassinated by the catholic Frenchman Balthasar Gérard in 1584. The bullet holes in the wall at the main stairs are still there. Today it is a museum, displaying a collection of Dutch paintings from the 17th Century. In the background the Old Church’s leaning tower.

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Poortkamer Kruithuis, Schiekade

“Poortkamer” in the Kruithuis, which served as a gunpowder storage after the Delft Explosion, also known as Delft Thunderclap. The explosion occurred on 12 October 1654 in a gunpowder storage, destroying much of the city. The Kruithuis was built in 1659-1662 outside the city walls. in the centre a chimney with the coat of arms of the Dutch Republic. The lion in the centre holds a bundle of seven arrows, depicting the alliance of the seven Provinces of the Republic. The banner below shows the battle cry of the Republic: “Concordia res parvae crescunt” or, in Dutch, “Eendracht maakt macht” (“Together we stand strong”). The Dutch Republic, which lasted more than two centuries, has been attacked by the English, French, Spaniards and others, but never surrendered to a foreign power until 1795, when we became a vassal state of France. In 1815 we became an independent monarchy until today.

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The Girl with the Pearl Earring

The girl with the Pearl Earring is one of Johannes Vermeer's masterworks and, as the name implies, uses a pearl earring for a focal point. I tried to do the same photographing this student girl in the Waalse Kerk during Lichtjesavond. Today the painting is kept in the Mauritshuis gallery in The Hague. It is sometimes referred to as "the Mona Lisa of the North" or "the Dutch Mona Lisa". The Vermeer Centrum in Delft has no paintings of the master, only reproductions.

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Hugo Grotius statue, Grote Markt

Hugo de Groot was a solicitor and founder of international law, born in Delft during the Dutch Revolt. He was also a philosopher, theologian, Christian apologist, playwright, historiographer and poet. Due to a conflict between civil and religious authorities Hugo was sentenced to life imprisonment in Loevestein castle, but managed to escape in a book chest and fled to Paris. Nowadays in the Netherlands he is mainly famous for this daring escape. Both the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the museum Het Prinsenhof in Delft claim to have the original book chest.

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Gemeenlandshuis, Oude Delft

Heraldic shields of the Delft Water Board members in 1645, the year the Water Board bought this house, on the façade of the Gemeenlandshuis in Delft. Water Boards are regional government bodies charged with the maintenance of dikes and dams, water level and water quality control. In short: they keep our feet dry. The Delfland region is located far below sea level. The Delft Water Board was originally founded in the 13th century.

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Getrude van Oosten statue, Heilige Geestkerkhof

Gertrude of Delft was probably born in Voorburcht and died at Delft, January 6th, 1358. She was considered a saint during her lifetime. She was a very religious Dutch beguine, who received on her body the sacred Stigmata. At the same time she was favoured with the gift of prophecy. She was buried outside the Old Church, at the cemetery for the poor, which is now called the Heilige Geestkerkhof. A modest but beautifully crafted statue right next to the church reminds us of her.

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William of Orange mausoleum, New Church

Mausoleum of William of Orange, nicknamed William the Silent. He was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish in the 16th century, also known as the Eighty Years’ War or Dutch War of Independence. He took up residence in Delft in 1572. By then Delft was one of the leading cities of Holland and it was equipped with strong enough city walls to allow it serve as headquarters. William was assassinated in his home by the Catholic Frenchman Balthasar Gérard on July 10th, 1584 and buried in the New Church. The war ended with the Peace of Münster in 1648, when the Dutch Republic was recognised as an independent country.

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Town Hall #1, Grote Markt

The original tower of the town hall in Delft, called the Steen, is a remnant of one of the rarest bell-towers in the northern lowlands. The original building, which survived the town fire of 1536, finally went up in flames in 1618. This is where Hendrick de Keyser came in, and built his creation. In the tower is an old city prison where the assassin of William of Orange, Balthasar Gérard, was tortured before being sentenced to death.

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East Gate

Construction work on the East Gate (Oostpoort) in Delft began in the year 1400. The towers were erected in 1514. It is the only remaining gate of the original eight town gates that once existed. It currently serves as an art gallery and private residence.

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Magical Delft

Delft was created more than 750 years ago. With almost 100.000 inhabitants it is quite a large town, but it feels like a village. It is famous for William of Orange, Johannes Vermeer and its pottery or Delftware, and all deceased members of our royalty are buried here. It is also the home base of the oldest and largest Dutch technical university, called the Delft University of Technology. Like Venice it has many canals and bridges, and pretty impressive architecture as well. There is a lot of history to discover, but it has not turned into a museum. It is medieval and high-tech. It is vibrant and peaceful. I think it’s magical.

© Mario Bentvelsen