Explorations of a city with canals, brick buildings and a very tall bell tower.Â
Located in central the Netherlands, Utrecht is the 4th largest in the country. It was once the most prominent city until the Dutch Golden Age (16th-17th century) when Amsterdam bypassed it. Utrecht is also where the Dutch Republic (1579-1795), the predecessor state to the Netherlands, was founded. Lots of history here. Also lots of adorable old buildings.
Jana Irving Starting off strong with the 15th/19th century Huis Zoudenbalch.
Jana Irving Sooooo cute.
Jana Irving Utrecht’s most prominent landmark, 14th century Domtoren (Dom Tower), the tallest church tower in the Netherlands. We will be returning here later.
Jana Irving The Oudegracht (old canal) runs through the center of Utrecht. The main channel of the River Rhine used to flow through here, but it had silted up in the Middle Ages. The main channel moved west, leaving only a small branch flowing through the Utrecht, which was then canaled.
Jana Irving The sides of the canal were raised up, leaving wharves and cellars at the water level.
Jana Irving The Dom Tower really dominates the skyline.
Jana Irving Moving on to the outer ring canal that used to be part of the city’s fortifications. De Inktpot (the Inkpot) is the largest brick building in the Netherlands and for some reason it has a UFO.
Jana Irving Cute little neighborhoods in this area.
Jana Irving Zeven Steegjes (Seven Alleys) (19th century) was a complex of small homes built for the city’s poor. There are quite a few similar complexes across the historic center.
Jana Irving A former church converted into apartments. Good reuse.
Jana Irving Nicolaïkerk. I just really like the top of the tower.
Jana Irving Lange Nieuwstraat (Long New Street).
Jana Irving On the left of the photo above is the Beyerskameren. A series of townhomes were built around 1600 to provide shelter for poor people and it still has low rents. The fancy doorway was the residence of the person that governed the complex.
Jana Irving A very Dutch view.
Jana Irving Very narrow.
Jana Irving The Paushuize was constructed for Adrianus of Utrecht in 1517. However, he never was able to reside in his new house because he was elected Pope Adrian VI.
Jana Irving No idea what this building is but its cool.
Jana Irving Back to the Dom Tower. It used to be connected to the cathedral, but part of the cathedral collapsed during a storm and was never rebuilt. (Drawing of what it used to look like.)
Jana Irving What’s left of the Domkerk. The hole in the nave was just bricked up. It was the largest church in the Netherlands until the nave collapsed.
Jana Irving It is a very Gothic church. The door on the left leads to the cloisters.
Jana Irving It’s very fancy.
Jana Irving The entrance to the cloister from plaza in front of the cathedral is much fancier.
Jana Irving Utrecht University Hall. No school that I went to was this fancy, but I did go to university that was built using part of an old insane asylum. Pretty fitting actually.
Jana Irving They put an organ where the church collapsed. Explains why there aren’t any windows there.
Jana Irving The high ceilings look a bit off in such a small church. Instead of an altar in the apse, there’s a tomb. Not the first time I’ve seen this in Gothic churches converted to Protestant use.
Jana Irving Probably the most ornate thing in this church. This is the tomb of Willem Joseph baron van Ghent tot Drakenburgh, a Dutch admiral from the 17th century.
Jana Irving A former Catholic ornamental screen that sat behind an altar. It was damaged in the reformation in 1580.
Jana Irving This is definitely a Gothic church because I don’t know what’s going on here.
Jana Irving Medieval tower thing along the canal.
Jana Irving Ended up in the area where I started.
Jana Irving St. Catharinakathedraal. The former convent next door is now a museum.
Jana Irving Pretty standard Gothic.
Jana Irving So there’s always something weird like this. Monkeys?
Jana Irving Last stop was the neo-Gothic St. Willibrordkerk. Churches were often a bit extra in the 19th century.
Jana Irving I love a good neo-Gothic building.
Utrecht is not on the Netherlands main tourist track, but that actually makes it more special. The city has plenty to see and do, lots of museums and lots of adorable streets to wander.
Check out my next update where I endure Carnival in Maastricht!
or
Start at the beginning of this European adventure!
