Theme Week Netherlands – Delft, the princely city

Thursday, 14 July 2011 - 03:32 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General, Architecture, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks
Reading Time:  4 minutes

Central Market Square with Town Hall © Herebedug

Central Market Square with Town Hall © Herebedug

Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland (Zuid-Holland), the Netherlands. It is located in between Rotterdam and The Hague. Delft is primarily known for its typically Dutch town centre (with canals); also for the painter Vermeer, Delft Blue pottery (Delftware), the Delft University of Technology, and its association with the Dutch royal family, the House of Orange-Nassau.

Delft is well known for the Delft pottery ceramic products which were styled on the imported Chinese porcelain of the 17th century. The city had an early start in this area since it was a home port of the Dutch East India Company. The painter Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) was born in Delft. Vermeer used Delft streets and home interiors as the subject or background of his paintings. Several other famous painters lived and worked in Delft at that time, such as Pieter de Hoogh, Carel Fabritius, Nicolaes Maes, Gerard Houckgeest and Hendrick Cornelisz. van Vliet. They all were members of the Delft School. The Delft School is known for its images of domestic life, views of households, church interiors, courtyards, squares and the streets of Delft. The painters also produced pictures showing historic events, flower paintings, portraits for patrons and the court, and decorative pieces of art.

City Hall © Malis Leger Museum © M.Minderhoud View from New Church © Ferditje Train Station © Markv Old Church © World66 New Church © Jens Buurgaard Nielsen East India House © Michiel1972 East Gate © M.Minderhoud De Roos Mill © Magalhães Buildings on the Market Square © Markus Bernet Delft Centre - Typical street view © Jens Buurgaard Nielsen Delft Blue Panel © Ellywa De Porceleyne Fles © M.Minderhoud Technical University Delft © Michiel1972 Central Market Square with Town Hall © Herebedug
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Delft Centre - Typical street view © Jens Buurgaard Nielsen
The city center retains many old and historical buildings, and many streets have canals in the center, inhabited by fish and plants making this beautiful small city a tourist destination. Historical buildings include:

  • Oude Kerk (Old Church). Buried here: Piet Hein, Johannes Vermeer, Anthony van Leeuwenhoek.
  • Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), constructed between 1381 and 1496. It contains the Dutch royal family’s burial vault, which between funerals is sealed with a 5000 kg cover stone.
  • The Prinsenhof (Princes’ Court), now a museum.
  • City Hall on the Markt.
  • The Oostpoort (Eastern gate), built around 1400. This is the only remaining gate of the old city walls.
  • The Gemeenlandshuis Delfland, or Huyterhuis, built in 1505, which houses the regional water authority Delfland since 1645.
  • Waag (Delft)

Here you can find the complete Overview of all Theme Weeks.

Read more on City of Delft, Leger Museum, University of Delft, Wikivoyage Delft and Wikipedia Delft. Learn more about the use of photos . To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facebook pages/Twitter accounts. In addition more and more destinations, tourist organisations and cultural institutions offer Apps for your Smart Phone or Tablet, to provide you with a mobile tourist guide (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.




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