Delft
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Delft is a city in South Holland, Netherlands, located halfway between Rotterdam and The Hague. Delft is also a municipality. It has 95,817 inhabitants (2004).
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History
The city dates from the 12th century. It received its charter in 1246.
The association of the House of Orange with Delft began when Willem van Oranje (Dutch for 'William of Orange'), nicknamed William the Silent, took up residence there in 1572. William was the leader at the time in the struggle against the Spanish, the Eighty Years' War.
Delft was one of the leading cities of Holland and was equipped with the necessary city walls to serve as a headquarters. When William was shot to death in 1584 by Balthazar Gerards in the hall of the Prinsenhof, the family's traditional burial place in Breda was in the hands of the Spanish. He was buried in the Nieuwe Kerk (Dutch for 'new church'), starting a tradition for the House of Orange that has continued to the present day.
Sights
The city centre retains many old buildings, and many streets have canals in the centre, inhabited by fish and plants. Historical buildings include:
- Oude Kerk (old church). Piet Pieterszoon Hein and Anthony van Leeuwenhoek are buried here.
- 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 5,000kg cover stone.
- The Prinsenhof (Princes' Court), now a museum.
- The city hall (as shown in the picture).
- The Oostpoort (eastern gate), built around 1400.
Culture
Jan_Vermeer_van_Delft_001.jpg
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.
cf .La Vue de Delft (http://perso.wanadoo.fr/wakaziva/toile)
Education
Due to the large number of university students at the Delft University of Technology, the population has a large number of males aged between 18 and 30.
Recreation
In the east is the Delftse Hout park, with a lake, called Grote Plas, in which people can swim. A part of the lake shore consists of a narrow beach (lanes of sand and grass). The northeast side of the beach is a nudist area. It is not separated from the clothed areas as in other places: the walking path around the lake, for general use, passes through it.
Miscellaneous
Delft was the birthplace of scientist Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723), the inventor of the microscope.
External links
- Public transport map of Delft (http://www.htm.net/Images/lijnk19.gif)
- Map of Delft (http://www.plattegronden.nl/delft/)
- Panorama of Delft Made from 600+ Composite Images (http://triton.tpd.tno.nl/gigazoom/Delft2.htm)
- Delft tourist website (http://www.visitdelft.com/) (in English)
- Municipal website of Delft (http://www.delft.nl/) (in Dutch)
- Nieuwe Kerk website (http://www.nieuwekerk-delft.nl/eng/) (in English)
- A Delft portal (http://delft.boogolinks.nl)
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