July 12 - Delft

 July 12 - Delft

There were no day-trips planned for today just spending time checking out a few more places in this lovely town of Delft. 


Our first visit was to the belfry of ‘The Nieuwe Kerk’ (The New Church).  Built early in the 15th century this tower is over 100 mts tall and has nearly 400 steps to its highest walkable point. Compared to most other towers that we’ve climbed this trip an unusual feature of this one is that most of its steps are made from wood and it also has gaps in-between like a step ladder.  Due to years of use they’re also very ‘shiny’ and loose which certainly makes for an ‘interesting’ climb. 😳😱

After recovering from our climbing exercise we then visited the Prinsenhof Museum, housed in an old palace.  This palace, originally built as a monastery in the Middle Ages, later served as home to William of Orange, ‘Father of the Dutch Nation’ (not the English one but his great grandfather).  This royal connection continues today as a large part of the museum’s collection is related to the ‘Dutch Revolt’ and William of Orange’s part in it (the ‘Dutch Revolt’ was a revolution in what was the ‘Low Countries’ against the rule of the Spanish king, hereditary ruler of the lands). 

The museum, also home to some ‘Old Masters’ and the ‘History of Delftware’, was really very interesting and they’ve done a great job presenting the historical story of the area. 

William of Orange 

Bottom R: Holes in the wall from 
the bullets that killed William of Orange.


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