Fun things to do in Delft

Around 1505 the house of the very wealthy Jan de Huyter, he was chairman of the polder board of Delft, was furnished with a façade of natural stone and a tower. In the 16th century the so-called Huyter House was the richest house of Delft. It was situated at Oude Delft 167.

After the house of the Spanish minded grandchild Jan de Huyter had been forfeited in 1572, it was used during five years by the Hof of Holland. Since then different owners came and went amongst whom the city of Delft. In1645 the Huyterhuis was bought by the Hoogheemraadschap of Delfland (Polder Authorities). The front façade is decorated with numerous little monsters and hop bells. The tower has a beautifully gilded weathervane which depicts a mermaid.

You can watch my 2 min 13 sec Video Delft in the evening out of my Youtube channel or here on VT.

In medieval times the town Delft (then one of the larger and most important within the Netherlands, had a citywall surrounding the town and defending it. Three of the gates have been surviving the centuries of which the watergate (Oostpoort) is the most well known. Another one stands in the Northern corner of where once the citywalls were. Now the walls have been torn down, when in late 18th and 19th century they became obselete, due to new weapons and warfare and the expansion of the town beyond the medieval defensive system. Close to the railroad on the Westflanks of town another silent reminder of these works, the hidden "Bagijne"-tower near windmill "De Roos". It was built here around 1500 and restored in 1967.

The watertower of Delft is a significant building just oustide the old city centre. These towers were built in the 19th century to create the first water pipe system within Delft. Realisation that clean water was the primary health care business for the future, many places in the Netherlands ran to a new system that concisted of piping throughout the town that provided water in several places and for everyone. To deliver the water the pipes had to be put under pressure and the local storage and pressure became a typical watertower, that is not only a monument now in Delft. Machines later took over the task and the tower is now under review for a possible new function. Talks are that it could be a climbing tower, but this has not been approved yet.

Meanwhile we should not forget the other side of the canal, where also interesting historical buildings are situated. In the first years of the 15th century this little church was built as house of prayer for the nearby convent of the holy Spirit. This charity institute did not belong to any then known religious group, though was related to Roman Catholicism and was ment to be a refigee for women, to find peace and spiritual blessing. After the reformation the church became part of the girl's orphinage and after that even a while the weapon's storage for the local regiment. In the 20st century it became again a Catholic church and known as the Saint Hippolytus chapel.

Prosparity to the Netherlands came in an explosive growth after the V.O.C (Verenigde Oost-Indische Company) was founded. This first company in the world consisted of six main towns that formed a trading treaty in 1602, which was based on shares (stocks). The stockholders were (in the first century) the towns themselves, bringing ggreat wealth to them. Delft was one of these towns. Now-a-days one might say, but Delft doesn't have a seaport, which is comepletely right. But in Rotterdam the old harbour is called "Delfhaven" and used to be the harbour of Delft, after which canals connecting to this place took care that all the goods were stored within the city itself. Only in 1886 this harbour became part of Rotterdam. Here also the administration of the V.O.C. was seated in the "Oost Indische" (East Inidian) House. In 1631 the houses were purchased and turned into the Delft administration, decorating the outside with significant signs appointing to the mighty company that since then was based here.

This remarkable 15th century building along the canal has had it's share of functions throughtout the time. The original place was, as one can clearly see in the many lukes and the lifting bench on top of the building, a storehouse for goods. Later it became known as "Vondelingenhuis" ("foundling" or abandonded children house) as well as the "Heilige Geest-huis" (house of the holy spirit). Now-a-days it actually still takes care of "foundlings", as the "Stadsherberg" is using the building for sheltering the homeless people of Delft.

Roman Catholic relgion is - after the natural (pagant) religions throughout Europe, the first widely spread believe. However, during the reformation the church became discriminated, even in the new Republic that started out as being a place where freedom of religion stood high on the list. Churches were abandoned or simply "reformed" into one of the many protestant christian religious groups. However, centuries later, some churches fell back into Catholic hands or, when this was not volunteraly offered, the Roman Catholics descided to built a complete new church. thus was the case in Delft, where the Saint Hoppolytus chapel was not large enough to house the two RC-parishes that appeared after the reformation times. The Saint Jozef parish, hiding out in a little church inside a canalhouse in the same named street, started the construction of a large basilica in 1733. The church became enormous and realised a bounding between the two Catholic parishes of Delft, re united the people again. Dispute however was the name, as one group always was in favour of the original Saint Hippolytus patriot saint, and the others stuck to Saint Jozef. Eventually the new church was named "Maria van Jesse" and it's two towers rise up in the sky, forming a graceful silouet over the tops of the Markt houses.

very large and luxurious late-gothic private house with stone facade and a nice turret. built for Jan de Huyter.
largely about 1505. since 1645 seat of the Dyke Convervancy Board of Delfland. Coats of arms above the entrance designed by Pieter Post (1652).