Onze Lieve Vrouwetoren
The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwetoren is a church tower in Amersfoort. The Late Gothic building reaches high above the inner city, it is one of the most eye-catching monuments in town and the third highest church tower in the Netherlands. The nickname of the tower is Lange Jan; the church that belonged to the tower was destroyed by a gunpowder explosion in the 18th century. The first chapel on site was constructed on this site in the 14th century. In the 15th century the chapel was replaced by new church with three aisles; when the tower was built is not known. Construction started around 1444 and was finished around 1470; the official documents of the construction were destroyed by the Protestants in 1579 during the reformation and the ensuing iconoclasm. The church and tower were no longer belonged to the Catholics; the church has been used for other purposes than worshiping. It was used as laboratory for the manufacturing of shells. In 1986 some research was done into its history and in the current square one can see the original plan of the church.
The spire of the church burned down in 1651 and again in 1804. The tower was restored in 1912–1932, in 1965–1970 and in 1993–1996; the middle point of the Dutch grid reference system is situated in the tower. From origin the tower spin was the middle of the grid with x = 0 and y = 0; this grid system was set up in the period 1885-1904. The coördinates were called Amersfoort coördinates; the Zero-point was moved in the period 1960-1978, it moved 155 km Westwards and 463 km Southwards. The coördinates of the middle point since are X = 155 000, Y = 463 000. Advantage of this new Zero-point is that there are no negative coördinates anymore and the X values differ from the Y values so mistakes shall not occur anymore. There are twelve consoles on the tower; the new consoles are designed and made by Ton Mooy during the restoration of 1993-1996. They replaced the weathered consoles from around 1930; the new consoles are made from Volvic basaltlava instead of the previous used Tuff stone, for reasons of durability and weather resistance.
The basalt lava mimics the surrounding Bentheimer sandstone in colouring, which could not be used anymore due to health regulations, is suited for finer carving than tuff stone. Extra information about the persons depicted on the consoles: Hendrik van Vianden was the Bishop of Utrecht who granted Amersfoort city rights in 1259 Margriete Gijsen found the miraculous Maria statue in the water of the canal near the Kamperpoort in 1444 David of Burgundy was the Bishop of Utrecht when the Onze Lieve Vrouwetoren was built Leendert Nicasius was the city carpenter, who saved the Onze Lieve Vrouwetoren from destruction in 1651 after it was struck by lightning Kadaster Onze-Lieve-Vrouwetoren
Centraal Museum
The Centraal Museum is the main museum in Utrecht, founded in 1838. The museum has a wide-ranging collection of works produced locally; the collection of the paintings by the Northern Mannerist Joachim Wtewael is by a long way the largest anywhere in the world. Other highlights are many significant paintings by the Utrecht Caravaggisti, such as Gerard van Honthorst and Hendrick ter Brugghen. Both of them travelled to Rome in the early 17th century to study the works of the Italian master Caravaggio. In the previous generation, as well as Wtewael, Abraham Bloemaert and the portraitist Paulus Moreelse were the most significant Utrecht painters, with Jan van Scorel still earlier; the collection - exhibited on the top floor of the Utrecht townhall - was limited to art related to the city of Utrecht. In 1921 the collection merged with various private collections in the new'centralised museum' located in the former medieval monastery at the Nicolaaskerkhof; the collection comprises pre-1850 art, modern art, applied art and the city history of Utrecht.
Since 2006, the museum runs the Miffy Museum, a museum across the street dedicated to Dick Bruna and his rabbit character Miffy. It runs the Rietveld Schröder House, a famous Modernist house built in 1924 by the Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld for Mrs. Truus Schröder-Schräder and her three children, now owned by the museum and open to the public. Amongst the highlights of the museum is the one-thousand-year-old'Utrecht Ship'; the ship is part of the collection'Stadsgeschiedenis'. The ship was found in 1930 near the Van Hoornekade in Utrecht and was put in the cellar of the 16th-century part of the museum building. Official site of the Centraal Museum Utrecht
Zendstation Smilde
Zendstation Smilde known as the CJ2 Data tower is a tall guyed tower in Hoogersmilde, the Netherlands, built in 1959, for directional radio services and TV and FM-transmissions. The structure is similar to the Gerbrandy Tower, consists of an 80-metre-high reinforced concrete tower and, until a fire accident on July 15, 2011, had a guyed tubular mast mounted on top; when first built, the tower, including the mast, was 270 metres high. The addition of a further section to the mast increased its total height to 303.5 m. In September 2007 the analog TV - UHF antenna was removed and replaced by a new UHF antenna for DVB-T, reducing the tower's height to 294 m. After rebuilding the collapsed tower in 2012, the new height is 303 metres; the mast was built by the state company for Post and Telephony but due to privatisation this has changed. Several masts in The Netherlands, including above mentioned Gerbrandy Tower, have a complex ownership structure: The 82 m high concrete tower is owned by Alticom BV The steel mast on top of the concrete tower is owned by NOVEC BV, a 100% daughter of TenneT BV, itself 100% state-owned The grounds on which the mast is located is owned by KPN, except for a ring of 3 m around the base of the tower, owned by Alticom.
On 14 August 1968 a US Air Force plane, an F-100 Super Sabre, from the Lakenheath Air Force Base in England was involved in an accident in heavy low clouds where the tip of a wing hit and broke one of the guy-wires of the tower, causing the upper section of the tower to bend. The pilot made an emergency landing at Soesterberg Royal Netherlands Air Force Base with considerable damage to the right wing. On 15 July 2011, the antenna section caught fire and collapsed, leaving only the concrete base standing. In the above-mentioned report a warning was given that there was an increased risk of accidents in the masts because of the complex ownership structure and that because of that processes were unclear. An investigation by the Dutch police didn't show any negligence or other factors that could have caused the fire; the above fire destroyed the steel mast on top of the concrete tower and the top of the concrete tower was damaged. The owner of the steel mast, NOVEC BV, announced that starting in March 2012, the new mast will be placed on top of the concrete tower and that the new mast will be operational in the summer of 2012.
The new mast will be a few metres higher than the destroyed one bringing the mast to the same height as before 2006, will be a steel lattice construction instead of the original tube style. This will prevent the'chimney effect', thus safer in case of a fire. On 14 May 2012, at 10:35 the highest point was reached by the builders of VolkerWessels The mast was operational again in October 2012. List of towers List of masts Smilde Transmission Tower at Structurae Smilde Transmission Tower on fire and collapsing on 15 July 2011 Smilde Transmission Tower on fire and collapsing on 15 July 2011 Rebuiling the mast at Hoogersmilde, continuing story on FM TV DX website
Grote Kerk (Breda)
The Grote Kerk or Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk is the most important monument and a landmark of Breda. The church is built in the Brabantine Gothic style; the tower of the church is 97 meters tall. The plan is in the shape of a Latin Cross; the first notice of a stone church in Breda is from 1269. In 1410, the construction of the church started with the choir. In 1468, the church was ready but in 1457 the old tower collapsed and between 1468 and 1509 the current tower was built, they continued building until 1547. In 1566, the Reformation took the church was no longer Catholic. In 1637, the church became Protestant; the tower spire burned in 1694 and the current spire was built in 1702. From 1843 onwards many restorations took place, the last big restoration took place from 1993 until 1998; the organ in the Grote Kerk of Breda is one of the largest organs in the Netherlands and its history goes back to the 16th century. At that time, the organ only possessed 16 stops. After being displaced several times, the organ arrived at its present location in the church in 1712.
After restoration of the church between 1904 and 1956, a new organ was ordered from D. A. Flentrop in Zaandam. In 1969, the new organ was inaugurated; the Prinsenkapel north of the choir is the old mausoleum of the House of Orange-Nassau, ancestors of the Dutch Royal Family. The chapel was built from 1520 until 1525 on orders of the Lord of Henry III of Nassau-Breda. Seventeen family members are buried in the chapel; when William of Orange died the plan was to bury him in the chapel, but Breda was at that time occupied by the Spanish. William of Orange and most of his descendants were buried in the mausoleum in the New Church in Delft. A special part of the chapel are the vault paintings from 1533; the frescos are made by the Italian painter Tommaso di Andrea Vincidor. The restoration of the chapel took five years. In 2003 the chapel was reopened to the public; the vault paintings were restored, all adaptations from periods were removed and the original painting restored. Website of the Grote Kerk
Huis Ten Bosch (theme park)
Huis Ten Bosch is a theme park in Sasebo, Japan, which recreates the Netherlands by displaying life-sized copies of old Dutch buildings. The name Huis Ten Bosch translates into English as "House at the Woods/bush", it is named after Huis ten Bosch in The Hague, one of the three official residences of the Dutch Royal Family. The park features many Dutch-style buildings such as hotels, theatres, museums and restaurants, along with canals, amusement rides, a park planted in seasonal flowers. Huis Ten Bosch, which opened on March 25, 1992, is located on Hario Island in the southern part of Sasebo, facing Ōmura Bay, its location reflects historical relations between the Netherlands and Japan, which began in 1609 when a trading post was opened by the Dutch in Hirado, not far from Sasebo. The park is open daily from 9.00 a.m. to 9.30 p.m.. A day "passport" ticket, covering entry and a number of attractions within the park costs 5,600 yen for adults and 4,400 yen for children; the park can be reached by JR bus from Nagasaki.
It can be reached by boat from Nagasaki Airport or from Sasebo. The park recorded the peak of 4.25 million visitors in 1996. However, due to the fall of the number of visitors caused by economic slump in Japan, the park declared bankruptcy in 2003 with debt of 220 billion yen; the rebuilding plan was sponsored by Nomura Principal Finance Company until March 2010, when H. I. S. A travel agency, took over the management by injecting 2 billion yen; the park was the setting for The Marshmallow Times. In 2015, the Henna Hotel opened on site, it is the world's first hotel staffed by robots, although humans will work alongside them. Official website A'theme park' that's an eco-friendly dream, C. W. Nicol, The Japan Times, 7 October 2004 Check In With the Velociraptor at the World’s First Robot Hotel, Gideon Lewis-Kraus, Wired, 2016-03-02
Rijksmonument
A rijksmonument is a national heritage site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education and Science. To be designated, a place must meet additional criteria. There are around 51,000 designated rijksmonuments in the Netherlands; the program was started during the Hague Convention in 1954. The current legislation governing the monuments is the Monumentenwet van 1988; the organization responsible for caring for the monuments, which used to be called Monumentenzorg, was renamed, is now called Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed. In June 2009, the Court of The Hague decided that individual purchasers of buildings that were listed as rijksmonuments would be exempt from paying transfer tax, effective from 1 May 2009; this exemption had only applied to legal entities. Many Dutch tourist attractions are rijksmonuments, such as windmills; some notable windmills are De Schoolmeester, Westzaan, a smock mill in North Holland, the only wind powered paper mill in the world, listed as rijksmonument number 40013.
Among the rijksmonuments are many churches. A provincial monument is a monument designated by a province. In the Netherlands there are only two provinces that assign North Holland and Drenthe; the designation allows the provinces to protect the monuments and are a base for the regulation of subsidy for restoring the monuments. A municipal monument is a monuments designated by a municipality. A municipal monument is not of national importance but it is important for the region or city/village. An archeological monument. Protected city or landscape views. List of Rijksmonuments List of heritage registers Top 100 Dutch heritage sites Monumentenregister, official database of heritage sites Monumenten.nl
Pieter and François Hemony
François Hemony and his brother Pieter, Pierre, or Peter Hemony were the greatest carillon bell founders in the history of the Low Countries. They developed the carillon, in collaboration with Jacob van Eyck, into a full-fledged musical instrument by casting the first tuned carillon in 1644; the brothers' skill was unequaled in their time. Today, most Hemony bells sound pure and clear; the brothers Hemony were born in Levécourt into a family of bell founders who travelled throughout Europe to cast bells. It is that they relocated their business to Germany during the Thirty Years' War, where François cast his first swinging bell. In 1641, they first cast swinging bells in the Netherlands for the Reformed Church in Goor, but their career reached a watershed when they settled in Zutphen and cast the world's first tuned carillon, installed in Zutphen's Wijnhuistoren tower, in 1644; that instrument was lost to fire in 1920. François and Pieter developed their ability to build and tune carillons in close cooperation with Jacob van Eyck, a musician and composer who developed a method of identifying the overtones of bells.
Van Eyck, appointed city carillonneur of Utrecht in 1642, had drawn the attention of leading scientists of his day, such as Christiaan Huygens and René Descartes, with his ability to isolate five partials of a bell by whistling to create sympathetic resonance. When struck, a bell produces a number of partials which, if imprecisely tuned, can create an unpleasant sound and which prevents it from harmonizing in accordance with other bells. To address this problem, the Hemony brothers gave their bells a particular profile and thickened it in certain places; the bells were tuned by hollowing ridges from specific parts of the inner wall until the first few partials were acceptably in tune. In 1657, the brothers parted ways. François moved at the invitation of the city government, to establish a foundry, he cast twenty carillons as well as statues for various sculptors, such as Artus I Quellinus. Pieter travelled through the southern Netherlands, with much time spent in Ghent in present-day Belgium, where he cast the great carillon for the Belfry of Ghent.
However, following conflicts with the city of Ghent over the quality of his work, Pieter in 1664 rejoined his brother in Amsterdam where, they cast some of their finest carillons, including that of the Dom Tower of Utrecht and the Town Hall. Bell production temporarily ceased following the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Dutch War in 1665 as they devoted their foundry to casting artillery. A few days after writing his will, François Hemony died on May 24, 1667. For his funeral at the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, a bell of his own casting was tolled for three and a half hours. Although Pieter would resume casting carillons in 1670, the foundry's best production had come to an end. Pieter died on February 20, 1680. In total, the brothers cast 51 carillons for towers in the Netherlands, Belgium and other countries, Here follows the complete list. Wijnhuistoren in Zutphen. First made well tuned carillon. Was lost in a tower fire in 1920 Grote or Lebuinus kerk in Deventer latest renovation of the carillon in 2011 Zuider of St. Pancrastoren Enkhuizen 1647-1649 - François 1664 enlarged - Pieter 1674 enlarged again.
New baton keyboard in 2013. Stadhuis in's-Hertogenbosch Cast in 1649. Nicolaïkerk in Utrecht restoration round 1990 Eusebiustoren in Arnhem 1650-1651 François 1661 enlargement. Was lost in 1944 during a bombing raid; some bells survived. Jacobitoren in Utrecht. François and Pieter 1651 Pieter 1668 enlargement. Was lost in a storm in 1674; some bells survived as swinging bells. Munttoren in Amsterdam One of the towers of the former Regulierspoort city gate; the remaining tower was enlarged by Hendrick de Keyser. François en Pieter cast it in 1651, it was the first carillon for Amsterdam made for the tower of the Beurs by Hendrick de Keyser. It was made larger by Pieter Hemony with bass and treble bells. Restoration in 1959 by Petit & Fritsen Gasthuistoren in Zaltbommel. Cast by François en Pieter in 1654. Bells were buried in a garden during world war two. Renovation and retuning by Eijsbouts in 1959. Barbaratoren in Culemborg Just 9 bass bells by Hemony. Other bells by Eijsbouts 1952 tuned in meantone temperament like all Hemony carillons.
Martinitoren in Doesburg. Cast by François en Pieter 1654/55. Was lost in World War II when the Germans exploded the tower in 1945, it was situated outside on top of the tower on one side of the spire. The new carillon is inside the tower. Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal in Antwerp and Church- or Kapittelbeiaard 1654/55. Was lent to St. Catharin church at Hoogstraten; some bells missing in Hoogstraten are lent to other parishes and some disappeared. Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal in Antwerp. Stads- of Kermisbeiaard by François en Pieter 1655 enlarged by them 1658. Latest renovation 2014. Automatic drumm part will follow soon. St. Michielsabdij in Antwerp. Cast by François en Pieter 1655. Lost in 1797 during the French period, during religious wars. Zuidertoren in Amsterdam. Due to the success of the Beurs carillon, François was invited to cast a new carillon for the Zuidertoren as a replacement of the old Waghevens chime. After this François was invited to be the'City Bell Founder' and to do the
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