1.
Carillon
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A carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in the bell tower of a church or municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, a traditional manual carillon is played by striking a keyboard – the stick-like keys of which are called batons – with the fists, and by pressing the keys of a pedal keyboard with the feet. Although unusual, real carillons have occasionally been fitted to theatre organs, such as the Christie organ installed at the Regal Cinema, Marble Arch, a carillon-like instrument with fewer than 23 bells is called a chime. The carillon is the second heaviest of all extant musical instruments, the heaviest carillon in the world weighs over 100 tons, whereas the Wanamaker organ in Philadelphia weighs 287 tons. The word carillon is from the French quadrillon, meaning four bells, in German, a carillon is also called a Glockenspiel, while the percussion instrument called a glockenspiel by English speakers is often called a carillon in French. In medieval times, swinging bells were first used as a way of notifying people of imminent church services, however, the use of bells to play melodic musical compositions originated in the 16th century in the Low Countries. The first carillon was in Flanders, where a fool performed music on the bells of Oudenaarde Town Hall in 1510 by using a baton keyboard, major figures in the evolution of the modern carillon were Pieter and François Hemony working in the 17th century. They are credited as being the greatest carillon bell founders in the history of the Low Countries, since each separate note is produced by an individual bell, a carillons musical range is determined by the number of bells it has. Different names are assigned to instruments based on the number of bells they comprise, players of these instruments often use music arranged specifically for their limited range of notes. A concert carillon has a range of at least four octaves and this is sometimes referred to as the standard-sized carillon. The Riverside Carillon in New York City has the largest tuned bell in the world. Travelling or mobile carillons are not placed in a tower, some of them can even be played indoors—in a concert hall or church—like the mobile carillon of Frank Steijns. The World Carillon Federation defines a carillon as A musical instrument composed of tuned bronze bells which are played from a baton keyboard, only those carillons having at least 23 bells may be taken into consideration. The carillonneur or carillonist is the title of the musician who plays the carillon, the carillonneur/carillonist usually sits in a cabin beneath the bells and presses down, with a loosely closed fist, on a series of baton-like keys arranged in the same pattern as a piano keyboard. The batons are almost never played with the fingers as one does a piano, though this is sometimes used as a special carillon playing technique. The keys activate levers and wires that directly to the bells clappers, thus, as with a piano. In addition to the keys, the heavier bells are also played with a pedal keyboard. These notes can either be played with the hands or the feet, poorly tuned bells often give an out of tune impression and also can be out of tune with themselves
2.
Bellfounding
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Bellfounding is the casting of bells in a foundry for use in churches, clocks, and public buildings. The process in East Asia dates to about 2000 BCE and in Europe dates to the 4th or 5th century, in early times, when a town produced a bell it was a momentous occasion in which the whole community would participate. Archaeological excavations of churchyards in Britain have revealed furnaces, which suggests that bells were often cast on site in pits dug in the building grounds, in some instances bells were cast directly in the church. Before the nineteenth century, bellfounders tended to be itinerant, travelling from church to church to cast bells on site, more centralized foundries were established on foundation of railways. There are however examples of foundries producing bells prior to this, such as the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, bells intended to be rung are usually made by casting bell metal of a size appropriate for the pitch the bell is intended to produce. Fine tuning of bells is achieved on a lathe where a precise amount of material is removed from the inside of the bell in order to produce a true tone with correct harmonics. Bells are used often to play a sequence and so must be well tuned in order to produce a correct scale of musical notes. Bellfounding has been important throughout the history of ancient civilizations, eastern bells, known for their tremendous size, were some of the earliest bells, cast many centuries before the European Iron Age. The earliest bells were made of pottery, developing later into the casting of metal bells, archaeological evidence of bellfounding appears in Neolithic China. The earliest metal bells, with one found in the Taosi site, portable bells came to Britain with the spread of Celtic Christianity, and most of those still remaining share an association with Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Bells are traditionally cast in foundries for use in churches, clocks, a practitioner of the craft is called a bellfounder or bellmaker. Large bells in England are mentioned by Bede as early as 670 CE, nearly 200 years later, in the tenth century is the first record of a complete peal of bells. The same period saw other ecclesiastics involved in the founding of bells, St. Dunstan, “The Chief of Monks”, was an expert worker in metals and known bell caster. Two bells were cast under his direction at Abingdon which also two others cast by St. Ethelwold. Methods of moulding by lost-wax casting were described by the thirteenth-century Benedictine monk Walter de Odyngton of Evesham Abbey, bellfounding as a regular trade followed later. Independent craftsmen set up small, permanent foundries in towns, although these attracted trade from the surrounding countryside, mediaeval founders did not confine themselves to bellmaking as their only source of livelihood. Instead, they often combined it with related trades, such as metal ware, some founders were itinerant, traveling from church to church to cast bells on site, but the majority had settled works in large towns. Among other places London, Gloucester, Salisbury, Bury St Edmunds, Norwich and these early bells had tonal discrepancies, a result of their weight and alloy composition as well as uniform thickness and profile—where the height was disproportionate to the diameter
3.
Thirty Years' War
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The Thirty Years War was a series of wars in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648. It was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, as well as the deadliest European religious war, resulting in eight million casualties. Initially a war between various Protestant and Catholic states in the fragmented Holy Roman Empire, it developed into a more general conflict involving most of the great powers. These states employed relatively large mercenary armies, and the war became less about religion, in the 17th century, religious beliefs and practices were a much larger influence on an average European than they are today. The war began when the newly elected Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand II, tried to impose uniformity on his domains. The northern Protestant states, angered by the violation of their rights to choose that had granted in the Peace of Augsburg. Ferdinand II was a devout Roman Catholic and relatively intolerant when compared to his predecessor and his policies were considered strongly pro-Catholic. They ousted the Habsburgs and elected Frederick V, Elector of the Rhenish Palatinate as their monarch, Frederick took the offer without the support of the union. The southern states, mainly Roman Catholic, were angered by this, led by Bavaria, these states formed the Catholic League to expel Frederick in support of the Emperor. The Empire soon crushed this rebellion in the Battle of White Mountain. After the atrocities committed in Bohemia, Saxony finally gave its support to the union, Spain, wishing to finally crush the Dutch rebels in the Netherlands and the Dutch Republic, intervened under the pretext of helping its dynastic Habsburg ally, Austria. No longer able to tolerate the encirclement of two major Habsburg powers on its borders, Catholic France entered the coalition on the side of the Protestants in order to counter the Habsburgs. Both mercenaries and soldiers in fighting armies traditionally looted or extorted tribute to get operating funds, the war also bankrupted most of the combatant powers. The Thirty Years War ended with the treaties of Osnabrück and Münster, the war altered the previous political order of European powers. Lutherans living in a prince-bishopric could continue to practice their faith, Lutherans could keep the territory they had taken from the Catholic Church since the Peace of Passau in 1552. Those prince-bishops who had converted to Lutheranism were required to give up their territories and this added a third major faith to the region, but its position was not recognized in any way by the Augsburg terms, to which only Catholicism and Lutheranism were parties. The Dutch revolted against Spanish domination during the 1560s, leading to a war of independence that led to a truce only in 1609. This dynastic concern overtook religious ones and led to Catholic Frances participation on the otherwise Protestant side of the war, Sweden and Denmark-Norway were interested in gaining control over northern German states bordering the Baltic Sea
4.
Goor
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Goor is a town about 25 km west of Enschede in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It received town rights in 1263, goor was a separate municipality until 2001, when it became a part of Hof van Twente. Map of the municipality, around 1868
5.
Zutphen
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Zutphen is a town in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. It lies some 30 km north-east of Arnhem, on the Eastern bank of the river IJssel at the point where it is joined by the Berkel, the name Zutphen appears to mean zuid-veen, or in English, south-fen. In 2005, the municipality of Zutphen was merged with the municipality of Warnsveld, the municipality had a population of 47,052 in 2014. About 300 AD a Germanic settlement was the first permanent town on a complex of low river dunes, whereas many such settlements were abandoned in the early Middle Ages, Zutphen on its strategic confluence of IJssel and Berkel stayed. After the incorporation of the IJssel lands in Charlemagnes Francia, Zutphen became a centre of governance under a count. The Normans raided and ravaged it in 882, afterwards a circular fortress was built to protect the budding town against Viking attacks. In the eleventh century Zutphen was a residence for a number of years, a pfalz was built, together with a large chapter church. The counts of Zutphen acquired a lot of power, until the line of counts became extinct in the twelfth century. After the death of her father and her brother, Ermgard, the settlement received town rights between 1191 and 1196, making it one of the oldest towns in the country. This allowed it to govern and have a judicial court. Only Utrecht, and Deventer preceded it in receiving town rights, Zutphen, in turn, became the mother town of several other towns in Guelders, such as Arnhem, Doetinchem, Doesburg, Lochem, Harderwijk, Venlo and Emmerich. It also became part of the Hanseatic League, a group of towns with great wealth, during the 12th century coins were minted in Zutphen by the Counts of Guelders and Zutphen, Henry I and Otto I. Although the city had minting rights for a few centuries this was actively used during four periods, 1478-1480, 1582-1583, 1604–1605. The largest and oldest church of the city is the St. Walburgis church, the present Gothic building contains monuments of the former counts of Zutphen, a fourteenth-century candelabrum, an elaborate copper font, and a monument to the Van Heeckeren family. The chapter-house of library contains a library which includes some valuable manuscripts. It is considered one of only 5 remaining medieval libraries in Europe and its fortifications were dismantled in 1874. In World War II the town was bombed several times by the allied forces because the bridge over the IJssel was vital to support the German troops at Arnhem after the Operation Market Garden, after two weeks of battle the town was liberated on 14 April 1945. After the war a renovation program started, the city center includes many monumental buildings dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries, and some even date back to the 13th century such as a retirement home area
6.
Utrecht
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Utrecht is the capital and most populous city in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the corner of the Randstad conurbation and is the fourth largest city in the Netherlands with a population of 330,772 in 2014. Utrechts ancient city centre features many buildings and structures several dating as far back as the High Middle Ages and it has been the religious centre of the Netherlands since the 8th century. It lost the status of prince-bishopric but remains the religious center in the country. Utrecht was the most important city in the Netherlands until the Dutch Golden Age, Utrecht is host to Utrecht University, the largest university in the Netherlands, as well as several other institutions of higher education. Due to its position within the country, it is an important transport hub for both rail and road transport. It has the second highest number of events in the Netherlands. In 2012, Lonely Planet included Utrecht in the top 10 of the world’s unsung places, a series of such fortresses was built after the Roman emperor Claudius decided the empire should not expand north. To consolidate the border the limes Germanicus defense line was constructed along the branch of the river Rhine. These fortresses were designed to house a cohort of about 500 Roman soldiers, near the fort settlements would grow housing artisans, traders and soldiers wives and children. In Roman times, the name of the Utrecht fortress was simply Traiectum, Traiectum became Dutch Trecht, with the U from Old Dutch uut added to distinguish U-trecht from Maas-tricht. In 11th-century official documents it was Latinized as Ultra Traiectum, around the year 200, the wooden walls of the fortification were replaced by sturdier tuff stone walls, remnants of which are still to be found below the buildings around Dom Square. From the middle of the 3rd century Germanic tribes regularly invaded the Roman territories, around 275 the Romans could no longer maintain the northern border and Utrecht was abandoned. Little is known about the next period 270–650, Utrecht is first spoken of again several centuries after the Romans left. Under the influence of the realms of the Franks, during Dagobert Is reign in the 7th century. In ongoing border conflicts with the Frisians this first church was destroyed, by the mid-7th century, English and Irish missionaries set out to convert the Frisians. The pope appointed their leader, Willibrordus, bishop of the Frisians, the tenure of Willibrordus is generally considered to be the beginning of the Bishopric of Utrecht. In 723, the Frankish leader Charles Martel bestowed the fortress in Utrecht, from then on Utrecht became one of the most influential seats of power for the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands
7.
Christiaan Huygens
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Christiaan Huygens, FRS was a prominent Dutch mathematician and scientist. He is known particularly as an astronomer, physicist, probabilist and horologist, Huygens was a leading scientist of his time. His work included early telescopic studies of the rings of Saturn and the discovery of its moon Titan and he published major studies of mechanics and optics, and pioneered work on games of chance. Christiaan Huygens was born on 14 April 1629 in The Hague, into a rich and influential Dutch family, Christiaan was named after his paternal grandfather. His mother was Suzanna van Baerle and she died in 1637, shortly after the birth of Huygens sister. The couple had five children, Constantijn, Christiaan, Lodewijk, Philips, Constantijn Huygens was a diplomat and advisor to the House of Orange, and also a poet and musician. His friends included Galileo Galilei, Marin Mersenne and René Descartes, Huygens was educated at home until turning sixteen years old. He liked to play with miniatures of mills and other machines and his father gave him a liberal education, he studied languages and music, history and geography, mathematics, logic and rhetoric, but also dancing, fencing and horse riding. In 1644 Huygens had as his mathematical tutor Jan Jansz de Jonge Stampioen, Descartes was impressed by his skills in geometry. His father sent Huygens to study law and mathematics at the University of Leiden, Frans van Schooten was an academic at Leiden from 1646, and also a private tutor to Huygens and his elder brother, replacing Stampioen on the advice of Descartes. Van Schooten brought his mathematical education up to date, in introducing him to the work of Fermat on differential geometry. Constantijn Huygens was closely involved in the new College, which lasted only to 1669, Christiaan Huygens lived at the home of the jurist Johann Henryk Dauber, and had mathematics classes with the English lecturer John Pell. He completed his studies in August 1649 and he then had a stint as a diplomat on a mission with Henry, Duke of Nassau. It took him to Bentheim, then Flensburg and he took off for Denmark, visited Copenhagen and Helsingør, and hoped to cross the Øresund to visit Descartes in Stockholm. While his father Constantijn had wished his son Christiaan to be a diplomat, in political terms, the First Stadtholderless Period that began in 1650 meant that the House of Orange was not in power, removing Constantijns influence. Further, he realised that his son had no interest in such a career, Huygens generally wrote in French or Latin. While still a student at Leiden he began a correspondence with the intelligencer Mersenne. Mersenne wrote to Constantijn on his sons talent for mathematics, the letters show the early interests of Huygens in mathematics
8.
Artus Quellinus the Elder
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Artus Quellinus also known as Artus Quellijn, Artus Quellinus I or Artus Quellinus the Elder was a Flemish sculptor. He is regarded as the most important representative of the Baroque in sculpture in the Southern Netherlands and his work had a major influence on the development of sculpture in Northern Europe. Artus Quellinus the Elder was born into an artistic family and he was the son of the respected Antwerp sculptor Erasmus Quellinus I and Elisabeth van Uden. His brothers became prominent artists, Erasmus was a painter and Hubertus was an engraver and painter and his sister Cornelia married his father’s pupil, the sculptor Pieter Verbrugghen the Elder. Artus Quellinus received his first training from his father, in the period from 1635 to 1639 he trained in Rome in the studio of his compatriot François Duquesnoy. He spent time in Lyon together with the Flemish painter Laureys Franck and was in there with the Dutch engraver Nicolaas van Helt Stockade. He returned to Antwerp in 1639 and became member of the local Guild of Saint Luke in 1640-41, in 1640 he took over the workshop of his father and married Marguerite Verdussen. He worked in Amsterdam in the years 1646 and 1647 and also spent time in Sweden and he won commissions in Amsterdam and, from 1650 onwards, worked for fifteen years on the new city hall together with the lead architect Jacob van Campen. Now called the Royal Palace on the Dam, this construction project and he returned to work in Antwerp in 1658 and remained active mainly in this city until his death. Many of these students would become leading sculptors in their own right who would spread the late Baroque style across Europe. Artus Quellinus brought the classicizing Baroque style of François Duquesnoy to his native Antwerp on his return from Rome in 1639 and he thus introduced into Flemish sculpture the Baroque style developed by François Duquesnoy, which was based on classical sculpture. This style was less expressive than the Baroque style of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, as Artus Quellinus I mainly worked on monumental commissions, most of his work is to be found in situ with as principal locations the cities of Brussels, Antwerp and Amsterdam. Artus Quellinus I also produced small-scale sculptures such as ivory-carvings and his work on the city hall of Amsterdam was very influential. It was popularised by his brother Hubertus, who engraved many of his works in the city hall, in the Dutch Republic Artus Quellinus I was further noted for funerary monuments and portrait busts. Another tomb monument he made in Germany was that for Frederick III, the portraits combine the classical style with late Baroque devices such as the inclusion of the arms of the sitter. His sculptures were so popular in Amsterdam that the leading Dutch writers Joost van den Vondel and his oeuvre after his return to Antwerp in 1658 is less well known. Media related to Artus Quellinus I at Wikimedia Commons
9.
Dom Tower of Utrecht
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The Dom Tower of Utrecht is the tallest church tower in the Netherlands, at 112.5 metres in height, and the Gothic-style tower is the symbol of the city. The tower was part of the Cathedral of Saint Martin, Utrecht, also known as Dom Church, the cathedral was never fully completed due to lack of money. Since the unfinished nave collapsed in 1674 the Dom tower became a standing tower. The tower stands at the spot where the city of Utrecht originated almost 2,000 years ago, the Dom Tower was one of the largest towers constructed in Europe during the fourteenth century, and it was planned to show the power of the church of Utrecht. Its construction led preacher Geert Groote to protest against the vanity of such a project, suggesting it was too tall, too expensive and all. The tower consists of two blocks, topped by a much lighter lantern. One of the most striking features is the absence of visible buttresses and its particular shape and original architecture had a large influence on many other towers in the Netherlands, including the Martinitoren in Groningen. Upon completion in 1382 the tower stood 109 metres tall, however this height was increased during the restorations in 1910, to its present height of 112.5 metres. The Dom tower was a multifunctional building, in addition to being a belfry, it contained a private chapel of the bishop of Utrecht on the first floor. It also served as the watchtower, the guard was housed on the second floor of the lower square block. The Dom Tower has a peal of fourteen ringing bells. In 1505 Geert van Wou, in his time the most famous bell-founder of the Netherlands, the seven smallest bells, sold in 1664 to finance the new carillon, were recast in 1982 by Eijsbouts. The largest bell, the Salvator, has a weight of 8,200 kg, together with the fourteenth bell, they form the largest existing homogeneous group of medieval bells. Today the bells are set in motion by the members of the Utrecht Klokkenluiders Gilde, in 1625, Jacob van Eyck became carillon player of the Dom Tower. In 1664, a new carillon was installed by Juriaan Sprakel of Zutphen, with a mechanism consisting of 35 chimes, made by the brothers Pieter, in 1972 the carillon was restored and extended to 50 bells. The cathedrals nave was never finished, and in 1674 a tornado destroyed this part of the cathedral. The remaining section of the church and the tower were never reconnected, in the summer of 2004, however, a mock nave was constructed out of scaffolding to commemorate the missing link. The floorplan of the section is shown by the multicoloured paving of the square
10.
Second Anglo-Dutch War
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After initial English successes, the war ended in a Dutch victory. It was part of a series of four Anglo-Dutch Wars fought between the English and the Dutch in the 17th and 18th centuries. The First Anglo-Dutch War was concluded with an English victory in the Battle of Scheveningen in August 1653, the Commonwealth government of Oliver Cromwell tried to avoid further conflict with the Dutch Republic. It did not come to the aid of its ally, Sweden, the Commonwealth was at war with Spain in the Anglo-Spanish War. The English feared Dutch intervention in this war on the side of the Spanish, in part, the leading personage of the Royal House of Orange was young Prince William who was the grandson of Charles I the lately beheaded king of England. Thus, the Commonwealth of England feared that the Orange party was under the influence of exiled English royalists, in reality, however, the Dutch Republic had only recently had its independence from Spain recognised, so had no desire to aid their hated former master. The Dutch were also building up their shipping and trading fleet again following the devastation of the First Anglo-Dutch War. While the English had won a great naval battles and destroyed a great many Dutch ships during the First Anglo-Dutch War. The real problem with the English trading system was that it was based on tariffs, Dutch goods were much more attractive around the world because they lacked the additional taxing on imports and exports that came with English goods. The end of the First Anglo-Dutch War had not changed this dynamic, indeed, the end of the war had set the United Provinces free to expand their trade while the English were still hindered by the same tariff system. Thus, another war seemed inevitable to many people of the time, as the Commonwealth was unlikely to give up its naval, the Treaty of Westminster itself planted the seeds of future conflict because of its secret annexe which contained the Act of Seclusion. The Act of Seclusion forbade the Province of Holland from installing any member of the House of Orange as their stadtholder, of course the most important province was Holland. Thanks to the influence that Johan de Witt could exert over the States-General, on May 4,1654, the Province of Holland passed its own Act of Exclusion. The Restoration of Charles II, in 1660, produced a surge of optimism in England. Many hoped to reverse the Dutch dominance in world trade, the Dutch, in this coordinated by Cornelis and Andries de Graeff, tried to placate the king with prodigious gifts, such as the Dutch Gift of 1660. Negotiations were started in 1661 to solve issues, which ended in the treaty of 1662. In 1663, Louis XIV of France stated his claim to portions of the Habsburg Southern Netherlands, during this time, Lord Clarendon, serving as chief minister to King Charles II of England, felt that France had become the greatest danger to England. In 1664, however, the situation quickly changed, clarendons enemy, Lord Arlington, became the favourite of the king and began to cooperate with the kings brother James, Duke of York, the Lord High Admiral
11.
Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam
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The Nieuwe Kerk is a 15th-century church in Amsterdam, located on Dam Square, next to the Royal Palace. The Nieuwe Kerk is no used for church services but is used as an exhibition space. It is also used for organ recitals, there is a café in one of the buildings attached to the church that has an entrance to the church. There is a store inside the entrance that sells postcards, books. The investitures of Queen Wilhelmina, Juliana and Beatrix also took place there, the Nieuwe Kerk is a burial site for Dutch naval heroes, including Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, Commodore Jan van Galen, and Jan van Speyk. The poet and playwright Joost van den Vondel is also buried in the church, after the Oude Kerk grew too small for the expanding population of the town, the bishop of Utrecht in 1408 gave permission to build a second parish church, the Nieuwe Kerk. This new church was consecrated to St. Mary and St. Catharine, the church was damaged by the city fires of 1421 and 1452 and burned down almost entirely in 1645, after which it was rebuilt in Gothic style. It underwent major renovation in 1892–1914, which added many neo-Gothic details, the second renovation proved expensive for the Dutch Reformed Church, forcing the church to be closed most of the time in order to save money on maintenance. To keep the open, ownership was transferred in 1979 to a newly formed cultural foundation called the Nationale Stichting De Nieuwe Kerk
