1.
Zuiderkerk
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The Zuiderkerk is a 17th-century Protestant church in the Nieuwmarkt area of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. The church played an important part in the life of Rembrandt and was the subject of a painting by Claude Monet, the Zuiderkerk was the citys first church built specifically for Protestant services. It was constructed between 1603 and 1611 and stands on the Zuiderkerkhof square near the Sint Antoniesbreestraat, the design of the church in Amsterdam Renaissance style is by Hendrick de Keyser, who was also buried in the church in 1621. A memorial stone was placed on top of his tomb in 1921, De Keyser designed the church as a pseudo-basilica in Gothic style, with a central nave and two lower side aisles, six bays long, with Tuscan columns, timber barrel vaults and dormers. The stained glass in the windows was replaced by transparent glass in the 17th Century. The richly detailed tower is a square stone substructure, on which an octagonal sandstone section stands with free-standing columns on the corners, on top of this is a wooden, lead-covered spire. French Impressionist painter Claude Monet painted the church during a visit to the Netherlands, there is some confusion about the date of this painting, but it was probably one of 12 paintings made by Monet in 1874 during a visit to Amsterdam. The composition is centred on the spire, with the Groenburgwal canal leading up to it in the foreground. The reflections of the buildings on the water are represented by yellow brushstrokes only, the painting now hangs in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Three of Rembrandts children were buried in the Zuiderkerk, which is very near to Rembrandts house in the Jodenbreestraat, ferdinand Bol, one of Rembrandts most famous pupils, was buried in the Zuiderkerk in 1680. According to local legend, Rembrandt painted the Night Watch at the church because his own studio was too small, however, the story is highly disputed and most likely untrue. The Zuiderkerk was used for services until 1929. The church was closed in 1970 because it was at the point of collapse, since June 2006, the church also houses the Wall of Fame, a homage to Dutch celebrities who have made a positive contribution to society, such as charitable work. The honourees include Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen, renowned former soccer player Johan Cruijff, the church is open to the public and currently serves as a municipal information center with exhibitions on housing and the environment. Richard Clyfton Hendrick de Keyser Amsterdam Heritage Informatiecentrum De Zuiderkerk Archimon
2.
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
3.
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
4.
Low Countries
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Most of the Low Countries are coastal regions bounded by the North Sea or the English Channel. The countries without access to the sea have linked themselves politically and economically to those with access to one union of port. The Low Countries were the scene of the northern towns, newly built rather than developed from ancient centres. In that period, they rivaled northern Italy for the most densely populated region of Europe, all of the regions mainly depended on trade, manufacturing and the encouragement of the free flow of goods and craftsmen. Germanic languages such as Dutch and Luxembourgish were the predominant languages, secondary languages included French, Romance-speaking Belgium, the Romance Flanders, and Namur. Governor Mary of Hungary used both the expressions les pays de par deça and Pays dEmbas, which evolved to Pays-Bas or Low Countries, today the term is typically fitted to modern political boundaries and used in the same way as the term Benelux, which also includes Luxembourg. The name of the country the Netherlands has the same meaning. The same name of countries can be found in other European languages, for example German Niederlande, French, les Pays-Bas, and so on. In the Dutch language itself no plural is used for the name of the modern country, so Nederland is used for the modern nation and de Nederlanden for the 16th century domains of Charles V. In Dutch, and to an extent in English, the Low Countries colloquially means the Netherlands and Belgium, sometimes the Netherlands. For example, a Derby der Lage Landen, is an event between Belgium and the Netherlands. Belgium was renamed only in 1830, after splitting from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, politically, before the Napoleonic wars, it was referred to as the Southern, Spanish or later Austrian Netherlands. It is still referred to as part of the low countries, the region politically had its origins in Carolingian empire, more precisely, most of it was within the Duchy of Lower Lotharingia. After the disintegration of Lower Lotharingia, the Low Countries were brought under the rule of various lordships until they came to be in the hands of the Valois Dukes of Burgundy. Hence, a part of the low countries came to be referred to as the Burgundian Netherlands also called the Seventeen Provinces up to 1581. Even after the secession of the autonomous Dutch Republic in the north. The Low Countries were part of the Roman provinces of Gallia Belgica, Germania Inferior and they were inhabited by Belgic and Germanic tribes. In the 4th and 5th century, Frankish tribes had entered this Roman region and they came to be ruled by the Merovingian dynasty, under which dynasty the southern part was re-Christianised
5.
Jacob van Eyck
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Jonkheer Jacob van Eyck was a Dutch nobleman and musician. He was one of the musicians in the Netherlands in the seventeenth century as a carillon player, organist, recorder virtuoso. He was an expert in casting and tuning, and taught the Hemony brothers how to tune a carillon. He is credited in developing the modern carillon with them when they cast the first tuned carillon in 1644, Van Eyck was born blind into a noble family in the small town of Heusden. In 1625 he left home and became player of the Dom Tower of Utrecht. René Descartes, Isaac Beeckman and other scientists praised his knowledge of acoustics, bell casting and tuning, Jacob van Eyck composed the Der Fluyten Lust-hof. Editions of this appeared in 1644,1646,1649,1654. Der Fluyten Lust-hof is an extensive collection of about 140 melodies, each with a number of diminutions or variations. The themes include folk songs, dance tunes, church works, Psalms, some of the variations are considered challenging even for an experienced recorder player. Jacob van Eyck’s Der Fluyten Lust-Hof, Utrecht, Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis,1991. Edited by Winfried Michel and Hermien Teske, Jacob Van Eyck and the Others, Dutch Solo Repertoire for Recorder in the Golden Age. Utrecht, Koninklijke Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis,2011, internet site devoted to Jacob van Eyck and Der Fluyten Lust-hof Music by Jacob Van Eyck Free scores by Jacob van Eyck at the International Music Score Library Project
6.
Champagne-Ardenne
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Champagne-Ardenne is a former administrative region of France, located in the northeast of the country, bordering Belgium. Mostly corresponding to the province of Champagne, the region is famous for its sparkling white wine. The administrative region was formed in 1956, consisting of the four departments Aube, Ardennes, Haute-Marne, on 1 January 2016, it merged with the neighboring regions of Alsace and Lorraine to form the new region Grand Est, thereby ceasing to exist as an independent entity. Its rivers, most of which flow west, include the Seine, the Marne, the LGV Est TGV line also connecting Paris and Strasbourg opened in 2007 and serves Reims with a train station in the commune of Bezannes. The regions canals include the Canal latéral à la Marne and Marne-Rhine Canal, the Vatry International Airport, primarily dedicated to air freight, has a runway 3,650 m long. The airport is in a populated area just 150 km from Paris. 282.37 km² of vineyards Champagne sales in 2001,263 million bottles of which 37. 6% were exported, with 1.3 million people and a density of 52/km², it is one of Frances least populated regions. The region is among the oldest in France, has a fertility rate
7.
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
8.
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
9.
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
10.
Overtone
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An overtone is any frequency greater than the fundamental frequency of a sound. Using the model of Fourier analysis, the fundamental and the overtones together are called partials, harmonics, or more precisely, harmonic partials, are partials whose frequencies are integer multiples of the fundamental. These overlapping terms are used when discussing the acoustic behavior of musical instruments. The model of Fourier analysis provides for the inclusion of inharmonic partials, when a resonant system such as a blown pipe or plucked string is excited, a number of overtones may be produced along with the fundamental tone. In simple cases, such as for most musical instruments, the frequencies of these tones are the same as the harmonics. Examples of exceptions include the drum, – a timpani whose first overtone is about 1.6 times its fundamental resonance frequency, gongs and cymbals. The human vocal tract is able to produce highly variable amplitudes of the overtones, called formants, most oscillators, from a guitar string to a flute, will naturally vibrate at a series of distinct frequencies known as normal modes. The lowest normal mode frequency is known as the fundamental frequency, often, when an oscillator is excited by, for example, plucking a guitar string, it will oscillate at several of its modal frequencies at the same time. So when a note is played, this gives the sensation of hearing other frequencies above the lowest frequency, timbre is the quality that gives the listener the ability to distinguish between the sound of different instruments. The timbre of an instrument is determined by which overtones it emphasizes and that is to say, the relative volumes of these overtones to each other determines the specific flavor or color of sound of that family of instruments. The intensity of each of these overtones is rarely constant for the duration of a note, over time, different overtones may decay at different rates, causing the relative intensity of each overtone to rise or fall independent of the overall volume of the sound. A carefully trained ear can hear these changes even in a single note and this is why the timbre of a note may be perceived differently when played staccato or legato. A driven non-linear oscillator, such as the folds, a blown wind instrument, or a bowed violin string will oscillate in a periodic. This generates the impression of sound at integer multiple frequencies of the known as harmonics, or more precisely. Thus, in music, overtones are often called harmonics, depending upon how the string is plucked or bowed, different overtones can be emphasized. However, some overtones in some instruments may not be of an integer multiplication of the fundamental frequency. High quality instruments are built in such a manner that their individual notes do not create disharmonious overtones. This is illustrated by the following, Consider a guitar string and this dead length actually varies from string to string, being more pronounced with thicker and/or stiffer strings
11.
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
12.
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
13.
Harmonic series (music)
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A harmonic series is the sequence of sounds where the base frequency of each sound is an integer multiple of the lowest base frequency. Pitched musical instruments are based on an approximate harmonic oscillator such as a string or a column of air. At these resonant frequencies, waves travel in both directions along the string or air column, reinforcing and canceling each other to form standing waves, interaction with the surrounding air causes audible sound waves, which travel away from the instrument. Because of the spacing of the resonances, these frequencies are mostly limited to integer multiples, or harmonics, of the lowest frequency. The musical timbre of a tone from such an instrument is determined by the relative strengths of each harmonic. A complex tone can be described as a combination of many simple periodic waves or partials, each with its own frequency of vibration, amplitude, a partial is any of the sine waves of which a complex tone is composed. A harmonic is any member of the series, an ideal set of frequencies that are positive integer multiples of a common fundamental frequency. The fundamental is also considered a harmonic because it is 1 times itself, a harmonic partial is any real partial component of a complex tone that matches an ideal harmonic. An inharmonic partial is any partial that does not match an ideal harmonic, Inharmonicity is a measure of the deviation of a partial from the closest ideal harmonic, typically measured in cents for each partial. Unpitched, or indefinite-pitched instruments, such as cymbals, gongs, or tam-tams make sounds that are rich in inharmonic partials, an overtone is any partial except the lowest partial. The term overtone does not imply harmonicity or inharmonicity and has no special meaning other than to exclude the fundamental. It is the relative strengths of the different overtones that gives an instrument its particular timbre, some electronic instruments, such as synthesizers, can play a pure frequency with no overtones. Synthesizers can also combine pure frequencies into more complex tones, such as to other instruments. Certain flutes and ocarinas are very nearly without overtones, in most pitched musical instruments, the fundamental is accompanied by other, higher-frequency harmonics. Thus shorter-wavelength, higher-frequency waves occur with varying prominence and give each instrument its characteristic tone quality, the fact that a string is fixed at each end means that the longest allowed wavelength on the string is twice the length of the string. Other allowed wavelengths are 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, theoretically, these shorter wavelengths correspond to vibrations at frequencies that are 2,3,4,5,6, etc. times the fundamental frequency. Physical characteristics of the vibrating medium and/or the resonator it vibrates against often alter these frequencies, the harmonic series is an arithmetic series. In terms of frequency, the difference between consecutive harmonics is therefore constant and equal to the fundamental, but because human ears respond to sound nonlinearly, higher harmonics are perceived as closer together than lower ones
14.
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
15.
Belfry of Ghent
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The 91-metre-tall belfry of Ghent is one of three medieval towers that overlook the old city centre of Ghent, Belgium, the other two belonging to Saint Bavo Cathedral and Saint Nicholas Church. Its height makes it the tallest belfry in Belgium, the belfry of Ghent, together with its attached buildings, belongs to the set of belfries of Belgium and France inscribed on UNESCOs World Heritage List. Construction of the began in 1313 after a design by master mason Jan van Haelst. His plans are preserved in the Ghent City Museum. After continuing intermittently through wars, plagues and political turmoil, the work reached completion in 1380 and it was near the end of this period that the gilded dragon, brought from Bruges, assumed its place atop the tower. The uppermost parts of the building have been several times. The local architect Lieven Cruyl made a design for a Baroque spire in 1684 and his design was not implemented and in 1771 the campanile was finished with a spire after a design by architect Louis t Kindt. A neo-Gothic spire of cast iron was placed on the tower in 1851 and this iron spire was demolished between 1911-1913 and replaced by the current stone spire. The works were carried out under the direction of Valentin Vaerwijck whose designs were inspired by the design from the 14th century. The bells in the belfry originally only served a religious purpose, gradually the bells got a secular role by regulating daily life in the growing medieval city. The alarm bell Roland, which was installed in the Belfry in 1325, was used as the hourly bell from 1378 onwards. The hourly chime was preceded by warning signals on three smaller bells with various tones and this was the predecessor of the carillon. The carillon was built by the famous bellfounders Pieter and François Hemony in the 17th century and has a weight of 30 tons. The carillon gradually expanded to 53 bells after its restoration in 1982, in 1993 another bell, called Robert, with a clear sound was added to the carillon. The primary bell in the tower, called Roland, was used to warn the citizens of Ghent of an approaching enemy or a battle won. After subduing Ghent, which had risen up against him, Charles V, henry Wadsworth Longfellow referred to Roland in his poem The Belfry of Bruges, Till the bell of Ghent responded oer lagoon and dike of sand, I am Roland. There is victory in the land, the bell is also the primary character in the citys anthem, in which the bell warns of fire or calls upon the citizens of Ghent to defend the land. The rectangular hall adjoining the belfry was built to headquarter the affairs of the trade that made the city rich during the Middle Ages
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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
17.
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
18.
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
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Enkhuizen
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Enkhuizen is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. Enkhuizen was one of the harbour-towns of the VOC, just like Hoorn and Amsterdam and it received city rights in 1355. In the mid-17th century, Enkhuizen was at the peak of its power and was one of the most important harbour cities in the Netherlands, however, due to a variety of reasons, notably the silting up of the harbours, Enkhuizen lost its position to Amsterdam. Enkhuizen has one of the largest marinas in the Netherlands, architecturally, the Drommedaris is the oldest building in Enkhuizen, from 1540. Tourists take boat trips to and from the port to Medemblik, industrially, Enkhuizen is home to a number of seed production companies, as well as a plastics factory. Tourism is a part of the economy, too. The municipality of Enkhuizen consists of the cities, towns, villages and/or districts, Enkhuizen, Oosterdijk. Furthermore, during summer ferries for pedestrians and cyclists operate between Enkhuizen and Stavoren, between Enkhuizen and Medemblik, and between Enkhuizen and Urk and it is also possible to drive or cycle across the Houtribdijk to Lelystad, passing under naviduct near the Krabbersgat lock. Media related to Enkhuizen at Wikimedia Commons Enkhuizen travel guide from Wikivoyage Official website
20.
's-Hertogenbosch
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S-Hertogenbosch, colloquially known as Den Bosch, is a city and municipality in the southern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant, the citys official name is a contraction of the Dutch des Hertogen bosch—the Dukes forest. The duke in question was Duke Henry I of Brabant, whose family had owned an estate at nearby Orthen for at least four centuries. He founded a new town located on some forested dunes in the middle of a marsh, at age 26, he granted s-Hertogenbosch city rights and the corresponding trade privileges in 1185. This is, however, the date given by later chroniclers. The original charter has been lost and his reason for founding the city was to protect his own interests against encroachment from Gelre and Holland, from its first days, he conceived of the city as a fortress. It was destroyed in 1203 in a joint expedition of Gelre and Holland, some remnants of the original city walls may still be seen. In the late 14th century, a larger wall was erected to protect the greatly expanded settled area. Artificial waterways were dug to serve as a city moat, through which the rivers Dommel, until 1520, the city flourished, becoming the second largest population centre in the territory of the present Netherlands, after Utrecht. The city was also a center of music, and composers, such as Jheronimus Clibano, the wars of the Reformation changed the course of the citys history. During the Eighty Years War, the city took the side of the Habsburg authorities and it was besieged several times by Prince Maurice of Orange, stadtholder of most of the Dutch Republic, who wanted to bring s-Hertogenbosch under the rule of the rebel United Provinces. The city was defended by Claude de Berlaymont, also known as Haultpenne. In the years of Truce, before the fighting after 1618. The surrounding marshes made a siege of the conventional type impossible, after a siege of three months, the city had to surrender—an enormous blow to Habsburg geo-political strategy during the Thirty Years War. This surrender cut the town off from the rest of the duchy, after the Peace of Westphalia, the fortifications were again expanded. In 1672, the Dutch rampjaar, the city held against the army of Louis XIV of France. In 1794, French revolutionary troops under command of Charles Pichegru took the city with hardly a fight, in the Batavian Republic, from 1806, the city became part of the Kingdom of Holland and from 1810, it was incorporated into the First French Empire. It was captured by the Prussians in 1814, the next year,1815, when the United Kingdom of the Netherlands was established, it became the capital of North Brabant
21.
St Eusebius' Church, Arnhem
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St. Eusebius church also known as the Eusebiuskerk or the Grote Kerk, at 93 metres is the largest church, and the largest building in Arnhem, The Netherlands. Notably the building contains an elevator that was added to the church in 1994, more intriguing perhaps, visitors can also enter the crypt at the rear of the church which contains a number of full skeletons lying in state, in the darkness of the churchs crypt. This new structure replaced the old building over the next century, commencing when Arnold. The church was damaged during the Second World War following Operation Market Garden in 1944. Later the tower, weakened by the fire, collapsed entirely, in 1994 the municipality of Arnhem commissioned an elevator to be placed in the church tower. Visitors can also take the final few steps inside the spire to climb to the point of the tower. The church organ is still prominent and in working order. Visitors to the church are also able to enter the crypt below the building and this part of the building has only very dim light in a central part
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Arnhem
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Arnhem /ˈɑːrnəm/ or /ˈɑːrnhɛm/ is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located on banks of the rivers Nederrijn and Sint-Jansbeek, which was the source of the citys development. Arnhem had a population of 151,356 in 2014 and is one of the cities of the Netherlands. The municipality is part of the city region Arnhem-Nijmegen, which has a combined 736,500 inhabitants, Arnhem is home to the Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen, ArtEZ Institute of the Arts, Netherlands Open Air Museum, Royal Burgers Zoo and National Sports Centre Papendal. The oldest archeological findings of human activity around Arnhem are two firestones of about 70,000 years ago and these come from the stone age, when the Neanderthals lived in this part of Europe. In Schuytgraaf, remnants of a camp from around 5000 BC have been discovered. In Schaarsbergen,12 grave mounds were found from 2400 BC, the earliest settlement in Arnhem dates from 1500 BC, of which traces have been found on the Hoogkamp, where the Van Goyenstraat is currently located. Arnhem arose on the location where the road between Nijmegen and Utrecht/Zutphen split, Seven streams provided the city with water, and only when the flow of the Rhine was changed in 1530, was the city located on the river. Arnhem was first mentioned as such in 893 as Arneym or Arentheym, in 1233 Count Otto II of Guelders from Zutphen, conferred city rights on the town, which had belonged to the abbey of Prüm, settled in, and fortified it. Arnhem entered the Hanseatic League in 1443, in 1473, it was captured by Charles the Bold of Burgundy. In 1514, Charles of Egmond, duke of Guelders, took it from the dukes of Burgundy, in 1543, as capital of the so-called Kwartier van Veluwe it joined the Union of Utrecht during the Eighty years war in 1579. After its capture from the Spanish forces by Dutch and English troops in 1585 the city part of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces of the Netherlands. The French occupied the town 1672–74, from 1795 to 1813, it was reoccupied by the French, by both revolutionary and imperial forces. In the early 19th century, the fortifications were almost completely dismantled. The Sabelspoort is the remaining part of the medieval walls. In the 19th century, Arnhem was a resort town famous for its picturesque beauty. It was known as het Haagje van het oosten, mainly because a number of former sugar barons or planters from the Indies settled there. Even now the city is famous for its parks and greenery, the urbanization in the north on hilly terrain is also quite unusual for the Netherlands
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Jacobikerk
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The Jacobikerk is a landmark Protestant church in Utrecht, Netherlands. The building is located on the St Jacobsstraat, named for its patron saint St. James the Greater, the church is one of the medieval parish churches of Utrecht, along with the Buurkerk, the Nicolaïkerk and the Geertekerk. Today it is known as the place for Dutch pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostella along the Way of St. James. The Dutch Confraternity of St. James is located around the corner on the St. Jacobskerkhof, the current gothic church dates from the end of the 13th century, but was expanded in the 14th and 15th centuries. In 1576-1577 a cannon was installed in the tower, aimed at Vredenburg where the Spanish soldiers there were under siege by the Utrecht schutters. Around 1580 the church endured the protestant reformation and in 1586 it was handed over to the protestants. The tower bell was made by S. Butendiic in 1479, Website Protestantse Wijkgemeente Jacobikerk Website Genootschap St. Jacob
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Munttoren
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The Munttoren or Munt is a tower in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It stands on the busy Muntplein square, where the Amstel river and the Singel canal meet, near the flower market, the tower was originally part of the Regulierspoort, one of the main gates in Amsterdams medieval city wall. The gate, built in the years 1480, consisted of two towers and a guard house, after the gate went up in flames in a 1618 fire, only the guard house and part of the western tower remained standing. The name of the tower refers to the fact that the house on side of it was used to mint coins in the 17th Century. The present guard house is not the original structure but a 19th Century fantasy. The original guard house, which had survived the fire of 1618 relatively unscathed, was replaced with a new building during 1885-1887 in Neo-Renaissance style, the architect was Willem Springer An underpass between the tower and the building was made during the 1938-1939 renovation. The Munttoren received new extra foundations to prevent it from sagging during construction of the Noord/Zuidlijn, the city has allocated 1.9 million euros for this purpose, according to a May 17,2006 report in the newspaper Het Parool. The carillon was made in 1668 by Pieter Hemony, who added new bells to the instrument that he and he also made a bronze drum for automatic music to announce the strike of the hour and half hour bell. It also chimes on the quarter with a short melody, the old drum is still in function. In 1873, the baton keyboard was removed from the carillon. Since that year the Munt clock also had a minute arm, in 1960 when the carillon was restored by Petit & Fritsen from Aarle Rixtel, a baton keyboard as a manual playing system was re-installed. Some of the original smaller Hemony bells have been damaged over the years by pollution from the round the tower and have been replaced by new bells in 1959 and 1993. The original smaller Hemony bells are now on display in the Amsterdam museum, the current carillon consists of 38 bells. Only 13 original Hemony bells remained, a mechanism causes the bells to chime every quarter of an hour. Twice a year the pins on the drum are changed by the city carilloneur, weekly on Saturdays, between 2 and 3 p. m. Gideon Bodden, the Amsterdam city carillonneur gives a live concert on the bells. Just after the renovation around 1961, cinema organist played weekly on the Munt bells and this EP, titled Its in the air, was released by Phillips Records. Scale models of the tower are exhibited at Madurodam in The Hague and at Mini-Europe in Brussels
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Hendrick de Keyser
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Hendrick de Keyser was a Dutch sculptor and architect born in Utrecht, Netherlands, who was instrumental in establishing a late Renaissance form of Mannerism in Amsterdam. He was the father of Thomas de Keyser who was an architect, as a young man the Utrecht-born artist Hendrick de Keyser was apprenticed to master Cornelis Bloemaert the elder. At the age of 26 he followed Bloemaert to Amsterdam, soon he set to work as an independent artist. When his talent became generally appreciated he was appointed city stonemason, in fact his duties included all of the tasks now associated with the job of city architect. De Keyser is famous for a number of important buildings which belong to the core of Dutch historic sites, today the Zuiderkerk and accompanying tower, the Delft Town Hall, the Westerkerk and Westertoren are among the historic buildings which provide important insights into De Keyser’s work. His Commodity Exchange of 1608-1613 was pulled down in the 19th century, Hendrick de Keysers projects in Amsterdam during the early decades of the 17th century helped establish a late Mannerist style referred to as Amsterdam Renaissance. The Amsterdam Renaissance style deviates in many respects from sixteenth-century Italian Renaissance architecture, classical elements such as pilasters, cornices and frontons were used on a large scale, but mainly as decorative elements. De Keyser never slavishly followed the tenets of classical architecture as laid down in the Italian treatises. His version came to bloom at the end of the second decade of the 17th century. The East India House in Amsterdam was most likely designed by him. Apart from pursuing a career as an architect, De Keyser remained active as a sculptor and he designed the tomb of William the Silent for the Nieuwe Kerk at Delft. However, De Keyser did not live to see the finished product and he died in Amsterdam, and his son Pieter completed the project. In 1631, ten years after De Keyser’s death, Cornelis Danckertsz included the architect’s most important sketches in his book ’Architectura Moderna’, De Keysers career was not limited to Amsterdam, and his international contacts helped him to keep in touch with the mainstream of European architecture. The Amsterdam city administrators sent him to England where he worked with Inigo Jones, Jones was the first English architect who went to Italy to learn all he could about classical architecture. He studied the famous treatises written by the Roman architect Vitruvius, the Banqueting House in London, designed for the Stuart monarchs, became the prototype of classical architecture in England. When De Keyser returned to Amsterdam one of Jones’ assistants, Nicholas Stone, Stone worked with De Keyser in Amsterdam from 1607 to 1613 and even became his son-in-law. De Keyser attention to England and English architecture reflect Amsterdams position as a centre in Europe. 1611, Beurs van Hendrick de Keyser, Rokin, Amsterdam, 1614-1623, Praalgraf Willem van Oranje, Delft
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Zaltbommel
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Zaltbommel is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. Zaltbommel was expanded to its current size on 1 January 1999, by a merger of the municipalities of Brakel, Kerkwijk and Zaltbommel. The municipality is situated in the heart of the Netherlands, close to the A2 Motorway, the line from Utrecht to s‑Hertogenbosch. Dutch Topographic map of Zaltbommel, Sept.2014 The municipality, the town of Zaltbommel was first mentioned as Bomela in the year 850. Zaltbommel received city rights in 1231 and these were renewed in 1316
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Culemborg
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Culemborg is a municipality and a city in the centre of the Netherlands. The city is situated just south of the Lek River, the cities of Utrecht and s-Hertogenbosch can be reached easily by train. It received city rights in 1318, in Joan Blaeus map of 1649, Culemborg remains entirely enclosed by walls behind its city moat-like encircling canals. The moated castle stands outside the city walls, houses present a united front along streets and the two canals that cut the city in three sections, but they all face gardens behind, and market gardens are plentiful within the city walls. In 1995, Culemborg was one of the cities which was evacuated because of the risk of flooding. Culemborg is served by Culemborg railway station, which trains to Utrecht 4x per hour and 2x per hour to Breda. The railway station provides a bus hub, offering buses to the various neighbouring cities and villages. Dutch topographic map of the municipality of Culemborg, June 2015 Dough processing company Rademaker BV, founded in 1977, moved to Culemborg in 1981, there are two traditional windmills in Culemborg, De Hoop and Johanna. The base of a mill, De Koornvriend, also survives
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Martinikerk (Doesburg)
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The Martinikerk is a church in Doesburg, in the Netherlands. The churchs tower is the eighth tallest in the Netherlands at 94 metres,1547 it was struck by lightning, heavily damaging church and tower. The tower was damaged by French troops in 1672, the rampjaar. It was once struck by lightning in 1717 and in 1783 became the first building in the Netherlands to be protected from lightning by a lightning rod. It was restored 1919–1930 by W. te Riele and N. de Wolf, and restored again after it was heavily damaged when retreating German troops blew up the tower in April 1945
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Cathedral of Our Lady (Antwerp)
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The Cathedral of Our Lady is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Antwerp, Belgium. Todays see of the Diocese of Antwerp started in 1352 and, in Gothic style, its architects were Jan and Pieter Appelmans. It contains a number of significant works by the Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens, as well as paintings by such as Otto van Veen, Jacob de Backer. The belfry of the cathedral is included in the Belfries of Belgium, where the cathedral now stands, there was a small chapel of Our Lady from the 9th to the 12th century, which acquired the status of parish church in 1124. During the course of the century, it was replaced by a larger Romanesque church. In 1352, construction was begun on a new Our Lady’s church which would become the largest Gothic church in the Netherlands, in the beginning, it was to be provided with two towers of equal height. In 1521, after nearly 170 years, the new church of Our Lady was ready, the south tower reached only as far as the third string course. During the night of 5–6 October 1533, the new church was gutted by fire. The completion of the tower was therefore delayed, which led to its ultimate postponement. Moreover, the church only became cathedral of the bishopric of Antwerp in 1559 but lost this title again from 1801 to 1961, during the Iconoclasm of 20 August 1566, Protestants destroyed a large part of the cathedral interior. Later, when Antwerp came under Protestant administration in 1581, a number of treasures were once again destroyed, removed or sold. The restoration of Roman Catholic authority came in 1585 with the fall of Antwerp, in 1794 the French revolutionaries who conquered the region plundered Our Lady’s Cathedral and inflicted serious damage. Around 1798, the French administration intended to demolish the building but after each blow, in 1816, various important works of art were returned from Paris, including three Rubens masterpieces. And over the course of the 19th century, the church was restored and refurnished. Between 1965 and 1993, a restoration took place. At the beginning of the 15th century, the choir started developing an active musical life, and as a result. Johannes Ockeghem, one of the most important composers of the 15th century, served here as a vicar-singer in 1443, from 1725 to 1731 Willem de Fesch served as Kapelmeester followed from 1731 to 1737 by Joseph-Hector Fiocco. Lesser known, but locally important figures, such as Jacobus Barbireau and Andreas Pevernage, the churchs one finished spire is 123 metres high, the highest church tower in the Benelux
30.
Hoogstraten
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For people with this surname, see Hoogstraten Hoogstraten is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises Hoogstraten, Meer, Meerle, Meersel-Dreef, Minderhout, Hoogstraten has a population of over 20,000, and lies in Flanders at the northern border of Belgium within an enclave surrounded on three sides by the Netherlands. Today, about 15% percent of the consists of Dutch people. The town is named after the hoge straat or high road – a military highway that linked the old towns of Antwerp, in the town’s early days, little trade existed. Villages and towns produced just enough for their own support, with little or no surplus to be ‘sold’ to other areas, thus, most travelers along this high road were soldiers and armies. Today Hoogstraten is internationally known for its strawberries, veiling Hoogstraten is one of the largest of the Benelux. Every year more than 30000 tonnes of strawberries are traded there, however its main agricultural crop is the tomato. Originally Hoogstraten probably existed as a group of thatched cottages. Passing travellers would pay for a meal of bread and stew, the animals and children ran free in the town along its earthen street. There was no lake or hill around which the cottages might have been grouped so the town’s focus was the main street. There was a river, the Mark, but given the tendency for rivers to overflow in this flat land. The town was chartered in 1210, when it was granted the title of ‘free town’ and this effectively gave it a charter with certain privileges, perhaps exemption from some taxes or exemption from ecclesiastical territorial sovereignty. Both helped the growth of a town, a watermill was built outside town on the River Mark. It was already an old mill when it was first mentioned in 1391, in 1380 a Beguinage was established to house good but poor old women. A very large church was built in 1524, and a matching town hall next door was built in 1530 before the church was completed in 1546. By 1564, a drawing shows the town consisted of houses on both sides of the wide unpaved Vrijheid. Cattle and dogs still ran freely along its length, the number of houses had grown to more than a hundred and they were no longer thatched but were fine upstanding wooden buildings some three stories high. The church, St. Catherine’s Church, formed the centre of the town, behind the church on a slight hill a few kilometres distant stood the castle of the Count who owned all the land for miles around
31.
Antwerp
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Antwerp is a city in Belgium, the capital of Antwerp province in the region of Flanders. With a population of 510,610, it is the most populous city proper in Belgium and its metropolitan area houses around 1,200,000 people, which is second behind Brussels. Antwerp is on the River Scheldt, linked to the North Sea by the Westerschelde estuary, the Port of Antwerp is one of the biggest in the world, ranking second in Europe and within the top 20 globally. Antwerp has long been an important city in the Low Countries, the inhabitants of Antwerp are nicknamed Sinjoren, after the Spanish honorific señor or French seigneur, lord, referring to the Spanish noblemen who ruled the city in the 17th century. The city hosted the 1920 Summer Olympics, according to folklore, notably celebrated by a statue in front of the town hall, the city got its name from a legend about a giant called Antigoon who lived near the Scheldt river. He exacted a toll from passing boatmen, and for those who refused, he severed one of their hands, eventually the giant was killed by a young hero named Silvius Brabo, who cut off the giants own hand and flung it into the river. Hence the name Antwerpen, from Dutch hand werpen, akin to Old English hand and wearpan, a longstanding theory is that the name originated in the Gallo-Roman period and comes from the Latin antverpia. Antverpia would come from Ante Verpia, indicating land that forms by deposition in the curve of a river. Note that the river Scheldt, before a period between 600 and 750, followed a different track. This must have coincided roughly with the current ringway south of the city, however, many historians think it unlikely that there was a large settlement which would be named Antverpia, but more something like an outpost with a river crossing. However, John Lothrop Motley argues, and so do a lot of Dutch etymologists and historians, aan t werp is also possible. This warp is a hill or a river deposit, high enough to remain dry at high tide. Another word for werp is pol hence polders, historical Antwerp allegedly had its origins in a Gallo-Roman vicus. Excavations carried out in the oldest section near the Scheldt, 1952–1961, produced pottery shards, the earliest mention of Antwerp dates from the 4th century. In the 4th century, Antwerp was first named, having been settled by the Germanic Franks, the name was reputed to have been derived from anda and werpum. The Merovingian Antwerp was evangelized by Saint Amand in the 7th century, at the end of the 10th century, the Scheldt became the boundary of the Holy Roman Empire. Antwerp became a margraviate in 980, by the German emperor Otto I, in the 11th century Godfrey of Bouillon was for some years known as the marquis of Antwerp. In the 12th century, Norbert of Xanten established a community of his Premonstratensian canons at St. Michaels Abbey at Caloes
32.
Oude Kerk, Amsterdam
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The 800-year-old Oude Kerk is Amsterdam’s oldest building and oldest parish church, founded ca.1213 and consecrated in 1306 by the bishop of Utrecht with Saint Nicolas as its patron saint. After the Reformation in 1578 it became a Calvinist church, which it remains today and it stands in De Wallen, now Amsterdams main red-light district. The square surrounding the church is the Oudekerksplein, by around 1213, a wooden chapel had been erected at the location of todays Oude Kerk. Over time, this structure was replaced by a church that was consecrated in 1306. The church has seen a number of performed by 15 generations of Amsterdam citizens. The church stood for only a half-century before the first alterations were made, not long after the turn of the 15th century, north and south transepts were added to the church creating a cross formation. Work on these renovations was completed in 1460, though it is likely that progress was interrupted by the great fires that besieged the city in 1421 and 1452. Before the Alteratie, or Reformation in Amsterdam of 1578, the Oude Kerk was Roman Catholic, following William the Silent’s defeat of the Spanish in the Dutch Revolt, the church was taken over by the Calvinist Dutch Reformed Church. Only the paintings on the ceiling, which were unreachable, were spared, locals would gather in the church to gossip, peddlers sold their goods, and beggars sought shelter. This was not tolerated by the Calvinists, however, and the homeless were expelled, in 1681, the choir was closed-off with screen of oak. Above the screen is the text, The prolonged misuse of Gods church, were here undone again in the year seventy-eight, in that same year, the Oude Kerk became home to the registry of marriages. It was also used as the city archives, the most important documents were locked in a chest covered with iron plates, the chest was kept safe in the iron chapel. The bust of famous organist and composer Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck celebrates the lifetime he spent playing in the church and his early career began at the age of fifteen when he succeeded his deceased father Pieter Swybertszoon as the Oude Kerk’s organist. He went on to music for all 150 Psalms and secured an international reputation as a leading Dutch composer. His music would also be played over the city from the bell tower. He is buried in the church, Rembrandt was a frequent visitor to the Oude Kerk and his children were all christened here. It is the building in Amsterdam that remains in its original state since Rembrandt walked its halls. In the Holy Sepulchre is a small Rembrandt exhibition, a shrine to his wife Saskia van Uylenburgh who was buried here in 1642, each year on 9 March, at 8,39 am, the early morning sun briefly illuminates her tomb
33.
Westerkerk
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Westerkerk is a Reformed church within Dutch Protestant church in central Amsterdam in the Netherlands. It is next to Amsterdams Jordaan district, on the bank of the Prinsengracht canal, the Westerkerk was built between 1620 and 1631 in Renaissance style, built according to designs by architect Hendrick de Keyser. He is buried in the church he designed earlier, the Zuiderkerk, the building of the Westerkerk was finished and completed by his son Pieter de Keyser and inaugurated on June 8,1631. The church has a length of 58 meters and a width of 29 meters, the high nave is flanked by the two lower aisles. The three-aisled basilica has a plan with two transepts of equal dimensions. As a result, the plan for church was given the form of two Greek crosses connected with each other. Several older churches in Amsterdam, such as Oude Kerk and Nieuwe Kerk, were built before the Reformation and were converted to Protestantism during the Reformation in 1578. The Westerkerk was one of the first purposely built Protestant churches, the Noorderkerk and Zuiderkerk preceded the Westerkerk. According to Calvinism, playing instrumental music inside the church was still considered profane in those days and it took many years of consultation until an organ was finally allowed. At first there was talk of moving the small organ used in the Nieuwe- or the Oudekerk. In 1681 the Westerkerk decided on commissioning organ builder Roelof Barentszn Duyschot for the construction of a new organ, before it was finished he died and in 1686 the new organ was finished by his son Johannes Duyschot. Later in 1727 it was enlarged with an extra third keyboard by Christiaan Vater who learned his profession at Arp Schnitger, many alterations were done on the organ in the course of time. In the 19th century in 1895 even a rebuild of the inside of the organ took place by Daniel Gerard Steenkuyl, lucky enough many of the old pipes and the wind chests were re used. In 1939, the keyboard was equipped with electric tracker action and it was not what this organ was intended to be in sound and action. The organ was almost doubled in size, but was too big for its case. So between 1989 and 1992 the organ was reconstructed by Flentrop organ builders in Zaandam to its former mechanical action again more or less like Christiaan Vater made it in 1727, today the bovenwerk is still almost complete with stops by Vater. An exception is the baarpyp, which is made by Steenkuyl in 1896, the front pipes were made in 1842 by Hermanus Knipscheer. In the situation after 1992, less than half of the pipes are historic and re-used in the hoofdwerk, the keyboards and stop triggers beside it of this just mechanical baroque organ are located in the main case behind this rugwerk
34.
Onze Lieve Vrouwetoren
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The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwetoren is a church tower in Amersfoort. The Late Gothic building is 98.33 metres tall and reaches high above the inner city and 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 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 exactly 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 taken over by the Protestants and no longer belonged to the Catholics, the church also has been used for other purposes than worshiping. It was used as a place for ammunition and 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 plan of the church. The spire of the 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 and this grid system was set up in the period 1885-1904. The coördinates where also 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 point since then are X =155000. Advantage of this new Zero-point is that there are no negative coördinates anymore, there are twelve consoles on the tower. The new consoles are designed and made by Ton Mooy during the restoration of 1993-1996 and 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 also mimics the surrounding Bentheimer sandstone in colouring, which could not be used due to health regulations
35.
Nieuwe Toren, Kampen
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The Nieuwe Toren is located at the Oudestraat in the city of Kampen. This Carillon tower was built in the period between 1649-1664 partly according to a design by Philips Vingboons, the lower brick-built part was erected by the Edam mill maker Dirck Janzn. The design for the lantern was made by Philips Vingboons, which may have originally intended for the Town hall now the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. The construction work went through many setbacks, the work came to a standstill during the period 1655-1660. The Tower houses a carillon which originally was cast and composed by François Hemony, Hemony cast 30 bells in 1659/62, which, with the exception of one little bell that was replaced in 1790 by L Haverkamp, are still present. During the first years, these Hemony bells were located in the Tower of the Kamper Town Hall, as the town hall tower was unable to provide room for the largest bells, these were only added when the instrument finally was installed in the Nieuwe Toren, in 1663. The added bass bells included 3 by Hemony,4 bells by Geert van Wou and this addition of very large bass bells made the instrument an exceptionally heavy and low-sounding carillon. The automatic playing mechanism, operated by the tower clock. The heart of it forms a large drum, cast in 1661 by François Hemony. This mechanism is located in a room in the tower. In the 17th century the carilloneur changed the melodies every two months, exception was made in cold periods in the winter. About this brass drum in particular is known that the carilloneurs in the past have notated lots of melodies with names like Rossini etc. even in the 19th century. In 1939 the design of the carillon was changed by the Rotterdam city carilloneur Ferdinand Timmermans and he hung up the bells in the octagonal lantern in rows, like in the famous St. Rumbold tower in Mechelen in Belgium. Timmermans was the first Dutch carillon student with Jef Denyn and he enlarged the carillon to 40 bells. The renovation was done by the van Bergen bell foundry with addition of some treble bells by Petit & Fritsen and this situation was not where the Kampen New Tower was intended to be made for. So this it was changed in 1978-1980 by Petit & Fritsen from Aarle Rixtel, but still without the missing fis1 and gis1. This time they still did not return to the oldest situation, in 1993 the missing basses were added and the missing treble bells from 1940 which were left away in 1980 were added and completed till 47 bells. So at the end there was an almost complete instrument but still not like it was originally before 1939, the Nieuwe Toren itself was restored in 2011
36.
Nieuwe Kerk (Delft)
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The Nieuwe Kerk is a Protestant church in the city of Delft in the Netherlands. The building is located on Delft Market Square, opposite to the City Hall, in 1584, William the Silent was entombed here in a mausoleum designed by Hendrick and Pieter de Keyser. Since then members of the House of Orange-Nassau have been entombed in the royal crypt, the latest are Queen Juliana and her husband Prince Bernhard in 2004. The private royal family crypt is not open to the public, the church tower is the second highest in the Netherlands, after the Domtoren in Utrecht. The New Church, formerly the church of St. Ursula, is the place of the princes of Orange. The tower was built 1396-1496 by Jacob van der Borch, who built the Dom in Utrecht during the years 1444-1475. The monument for Hugo de Groot was made in 1781, the mechanical clock has 18 bells by Francois Hemony from 1659 and 30 modern bells. In the church there is a bell from 1662 by Francois Hemony with a diameter of 104 centimeters. In the tower there are also no longer in use, including 13 from 1659 by Francois Hemony,3 from 1678 by Pieter Hemony,3 from 1750 from Joris de Mery. The Kirk appears in the golden Age painting by Carel Fabritius, A View of Delft
37.
Brielle
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The municipality covers an area of 31.14 km2 of which 3.58 km2 is water. In 2014 its population was 16,350, the municipality of Brielle also includes the communities Vierpolders and Zwartewaal. Brielle is a old, fortified town. Its name is derived from the Celtic word brogilo, the oldest writings about Brielle indicate that the current location is the new Brielle. Den ouden Briel must have been situated somewhere else on the Voorne-Putten Island and it received city rights in 1306. The city was for a time the seat of the Count of Voorne. It had its own harbour and traded with the countries around the Baltic Sea, Brielle even had its own trading colony in Sweden. This event is celebrated each year on April 1 and the night before. The first English governor of Brielle was Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, succeed by Edward Conway, English garrisons were stationed here and at Flushing. In 1617, these returned to the Netherlands. Brielle is twinned with, Queenborough, England, since 1967 Havlíčkův Brod, Czech Republic, since 1985 Official website http, //www. catharijnekerk. nl Website of St Catharijnekerk
38.
Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk (Rotterdam)
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Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk is a Protestant church in Rotterdam. It is the remnant of the medieval city of Rotterdam. The church was built between 1449 and 1525, in 1621 a wooden spire was added to the tower, designed by Hendrick de Keyser. Poor quality of its wood caused the spire to be demolished in 1645, a stone cube was added to the tower, which proved too heavy for the foundation in 1650. New piles were driven under the tower and in 1655 the tower stood straight again and this basilica was the first all stone building in Rotterdam. Many important events took place here, the last priest of the Laurenskerk was Hubertus Duifhuis. The Reformation took place in 1572 and the Laurenskerk became a Protestant church, the church is still used for worship of the Protestant Church. In the Rotterdam Blitz on May 14,1940 the Laurenskerk was heavily damaged, at first there were calls to demolish the church, but that was stopped by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. The provisional National Monuments Commission had both supporters and opponents of restoration, in particular, committee member and architect J. J. P. Oud opposed rebuilding in 1950 and presented a plan which would preserve only the tower. Next to the memorial a new, smaller church would be built and this alternative plan was rejected, particularly because restoration of the Laurenskerk was viewed as a symbol of the resilience of Rotterdams community. In 1952, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands laid the stone for the restoration. In 1971 the Laurenspastoraat community was established in order to resume church services, the community received a Cross of Nails replica from Coventry Cathedral in order to become a local center for peace and reconciliation. In 1981 the liberal Maaskant/Open Grenzen community joined the church and since then the two communities alternate their services, Laurenskerk Rotterdam, official website Kerken in de Laurens, pastoral of the church
39.
Huy
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Huy is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the countrys Walloon Region and Province of Liege, Huy lies along the river Meuse, at the mouth of the small river Hoyoux. It is in the sillon industriel, the industrial backbone of Wallonia. The Huy municipality includes the sub-municipalities of Ben-Ahin, Neuville-sous-Huy, the first village originated around the Roman castrum, an early fortress located on the right bank of the River Meuse. The village was evangelized by Saint Domitian, bishop of Tongeren in the 6th century and the town is mentioned for the first time in a 7th-century testament. In the early Middle Ages, Huy was one of the most prosperous cities on the Meuse, with an economy based mostly on metallurgy, but also on tanning, sculpting, woodworking. In the 10th century, Huy was promoted to county status, Huy was the recipient of the first historically known charter north of the Alps, confirming it as a city in 1066. It is around that time that Peter the Hermit harangued the locals, in the 13th and 14th centuries, the economy boomed thanks to the cloth industry. The castle on a right in the middle of town, was used in times of war. By the 15th century, it had become the symbol of the city, the following two centuries, however, witnessed a gradual decline in the city’s fortunes, due in large part to the strategic value of its location on the Meuse. A new fortress was built by the Dutch in 1818 at the strategic location above the town. The 19th century was a period of relative prosperity based on the paper and other industries, the decline of heavy industry in the 20th century was felt here, as in other parts of Wallonia. Today, the city has started to again, thanks in part to its tin products. In 1970 the Tihange Nuclear Power Station was built, every seven years, a religious procession takes place in the so-called septennial festivities in commemoration of the end of a drought in 1656. The last one took place on August 15,2012, the race traverses, and finishes, at the summit of the Mur de Huy, a climb of about 1 kilometer with an average gradient of 10%, with sections of 20%. Huy has also used in the Tour de France four times,1995,2001,2006 and 2015. Huy was used as the location for the 2014 BBC television drama series The Missing, cavalry commander of Jacobite forces at the Siege of Limerick, Ireland, General in French Army following Flight of the Wild Geese is buried here, in the graveyard of St. Martins Church. Léon Lhoist, businessman Huy Trinh, Definer of the Huy Curve, Nutty Movement Legend Huy is twinned with, Official web site
40.
Wallonia
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Wallonia is a region of Belgium. Wallonia is primarily French-speaking, and accounts for 55% of the territory of Belgium, unlike Flanders, the Walloon Region was not merged with the French Community of Belgium which is the political entity that is responsible for matters related mainly to culture and education. The German-speaking minority in the east forms the German-speaking Community of Belgium, during the industrial revolution, Wallonia was second only to the United Kingdom in industrialization, capitalizing on its extensive deposits of coal and iron. This brought the wealth, and, from the beginning of the 19th to the middle of the 20th century. Since World War II the importance of industry has greatly diminished. Wallonia now suffers high unemployment and has a significantly lower GDP per capita than Flanders. The economic inequalities and linguistic divide between the two are major sources of conflict in Belgium and is a major factor in Flemish separatism. The capital of Wallonia is Namur but the city with the greatest population is Charleroi, most of Wallonias major cities and two-thirds of its population lie along the Sambre and Meuse valley, the former industrial backbone of Belgium. To the north lies the Central Belgian Plateau, which, like Flanders, is relatively flat, in the south-east lie the Ardennes, hilly and sparsely populated. Wallonia borders Flanders and the Netherlands in the north, France to the south and west, Wallonia has been a member of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie since 1980. The term Wallonia can mean different things in different contexts. One of the three regions of Belgium is still constitutionally defined as the Walloon Region, but the regions government has renamed it Wallonia. In practice, the difference between the two terms is small and what is meant is usually clear, based on context, the root of the word Wallonia, like the words Wales, Cornwall and Wallachia, is the Germanic word Walha, meaning the strangers. Wallonia is named after the Walloons, the population of the Burgundian Netherlands speaking Romance languages, in Middle Dutch, the term Walloons also included the French-speaking population of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège or the whole population of the Romanic sprachraum within the medieval Low Countries. Julius Caesar conquered Gaul in 57 BC, the Low Countries became part of the larger Gallia Belgica province which originally stretched from southwestern Germany to Normandy and the southern part of the Netherlands. The population of territory was Celtic with a Germanic influence which was stronger in the north than in the south of the province. The ancestors of the Walloons became Gallo-Romans and were called the Walha by their Germanic neighbours, the Walha abandoned their Celtic dialects and started to speak Vulgar Latin. The Merovingian Franks gradually gained control of the region during the 5th century, the language border began to crystallize between 700 under the reign of the Merovingians and Carolingians and around 1000 after the Ottonian Renaissance
41.
Mainz
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Mainz is the capital and largest city of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. It was the capital of the Electorate of Mainz at the time of the Holy Roman Empire. The city is famous as the home of the invention of the printing press. Until the twentieth century, Mainz was usually referred to in English by its French name, Mainz is located on the 50th latitude, on the west bank of the river Rhine, opposite the confluence of the Main with the Rhine. The population in the early 2012 was 200,957, an additional 18,619 people maintain a primary residence elsewhere but have a home in Mainz. The city is part of the Rhein Metro area comprising 5.8 million people, Mainz can easily be reached from Frankfurt International Airport in 25 minutes by commuter railway. Mainzs history and economy are closely tied to its proximity to the Rhine river historically handling much of the regions waterborne cargo, todays huge container port hub allowing trimodal transport is located on the North Side of the town. The river also provides another positive effect, moderating Mainzs climate, after the last ice age, sand dunes were deposited in the Rhine valley at what was to become the western edge of the city. The Mainz Sand Dunes area is now a reserve with a unique landscape. When the Mainz legion camp was founded in 13/12 BC, the buildings near the Rhine River, historical sources and archaeological findings both prove the importance of the military and civilian Mogontiacum as a port city on the Rhine. The Roman stronghold or castrum Mogontiacum, the precursor to Mainz, was founded by the Roman general Drusus perhaps as early as 13/12 BC. As related by Suetonius the existence of Mogontiacum is well established by four years later, although the city is situated opposite the mouth of the Main river, the name of Mainz is not from Main, the similarity being perhaps due to diachronic analogy. Main is from Latin Menus, the name the Romans used for the river, linguistic analysis of the many forms that the name Mainz has taken on make it clear that it is a simplification of Mogontiacum. The name appears to be Celtic and ultimately it is, however, it had also become Roman and was selected by them with a special significance. Mogontiacum was an important military town throughout Roman times, probably due to its position at the confluence of the Main. The town of Mogontiacum grew up between the fort and the river, the castrum was the base of Legio XIIII Gemina and XVI Gallica, XXII Primigenia, IIII Macedonica, I Adiutrix, XXI Rapax, and XIIII Gemina, among others. Mainz was also a base of a Roman river fleet, the Classis Germanica, remains of Roman troop ships and a patrol boat from the late 4th century were discovered in 1982/86 and may now be viewed in the Museum für Antike Schifffahrt. A temple dedicated to Isis Panthea and Magna Mater was discovered in 2000 and is open to the public
42.
Grote Kerk, Haarlem
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The Grote Kerk or St. -Bavokerk is a Protestant church and former Catholic cathedral located on the central market square in the Dutch city of Haarlem. Another Haarlem church called the Cathedral of Saint Bavo now serves as the cathedral for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Haarlem-Amsterdam. This church is an important landmark for the city of Haarlem and has dominated the city skyline for centuries and it is built in the Gothic style of architecture, and it became the main church of Haarlem after renovations in the 15th century made it significantly larger than the Janskerk. First mention of a church on this spot was made in 1307, the church was rebuilt and promoted to chapter church in 1479 and only became a cathedral in 1559. The main architects were Godevaert de Bosscher and Steven van Afflighem, the church was confiscated only 19 years later during the Haarlemse noon in 1578, when it was converted to Protestantism. Haarlem has had a Christian parish church since the 9th century and this first church was a daughter church of Velsen, which itself was founded in 695 by St. Willibrord. This early first church was a church on the same site of the current Sint-Bavokerk. Extensions and expansions over the centuries led to its consecration in 1559 when the first bishop Nicolaas van Nieuwland was appointed. Since the building of this new Cathedral of St. Bavo, there has been lots of confusion about the name of the Bavochurch, for this reason it is officially called Grote Kerk, which just means High Church. On May 22,1801 there was a fire caused by lightning which struck the tower, another disaster was prevented in 1839 by Martijn Hendrik Kretschman, the guard of the tower. He stopped Jan Drost who worked for the church, Drost had tried to set fire to the pipe organ and piano by throwing hot coals on top of it. Drost committed suicide and he was buried in the tower, in the church was a high sentry bos reserved for fire-watchers. If they saw a fire in the city then they would signal using red flags so that the guards in the guard house opposite could react. This sentry position was still in use in 1919, in the renovation of the 1930s an automatic sprinkler system was installed in the tower, that could extinguish a fire 70m high in the tower. This can be seen easily when comparing pictures made before and afterwards, around the church various low buildings have been built up against it, most notably the former fish market called De Vishal, which today is used for exhibiting modern art. On the south side a series of low buildings used as shops are built up against various church buildings such as the former librye or library, in 1630 the architect Salomon de Bray designed and built the consistory which still exists today. The interior of the church has changed little over the years, though the inner chapels suffered greatly during the Beeldenstorm. Fortunately, the interior has been painted many times by painters, most notably by Pieter Jansz Saenredam
43.
Bakenesserkerk
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The Bakenesserkerk is a former church and seat of the local archeological workgroup in Haarlem, Netherlands, on the Vrouwestraat 10. Its characteristic white tower can be seen in cityscapes of Haarlem, the entrance is opposite the rear entrance to the Teylers Hofje. It was founded in the 13th century by William II of Holland as Onze Lieve Vrouwenkapel, after the Siege of Haarlem when 1500 soldiers were held here before being killed by the Spanish after their victory, the church was used to store turf for fifty years. Inscribed above the 1620 dooway on the side is the Latin text Si laudem nova qui struxerunt templa tulere cur non qui renovant et vetus hocce ferant 1638. The church is currently in use as space for the workgroup of the Archeologisch Museum Haarlem
44.
St. Nicholas' Church, Hamburg
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The Gothic Revival Church of St. Nicholas was formerly one of the five Lutheran Hauptkirchen in the city of Hamburg. The church lies now in ruins, with only its tower remaining, serving as a memorial, the church was the tallest building in the world from 1874 to 1876 and is still the second-tallest structure in Hamburg. The current condition of the Church of St. Nicholas is the result of the bombing of Hamburg in World War II, resultant demolition in 1951, foundation is responsible for the restoration of the church. The foundation is supported in its work by the city of Hamburg, with the founding of the Nikolai settlement and a harbor on the Alster in the 12th century, a chapel dedicated to Saint Nicholas, patron saint of sailors, was erected. This wood building was the church in Hamburg, after St. Marys Cathedral. In 1335, some years before the onslaught of the Black Death, the structure was to be a three-naved hall church in the typical North German Brick Gothic style. This building stood until the middle of the 19th century, undergoing changes, expansions, the tower, which was erected in 1517, burned down in 1589. The tower built to replace it collapsed in 1644, the last tower of the old Church of St. Nicholas was designed by Peter Marquardt. The Marquardt tower had a height of 122 metres and with its dome was a landmark of the city. As the center of one of the four Hamburg parishes, the Church of St. Nicholas was heavily involved in all the debates that were fought out in the city. After the minister Henning Kissenbrügge had resigned in 1524, the residents chose as minister Johannes Bugenhagen, the conservative city council was able to prevent his appointment by making Kissenbrügge stay. However, they could not stop the wave of elected Lutheran ministers in Hamburg, in the Church of St. Nicholas. The Reformation was completed peacefully, and in 1528 Bugenhagen appeared in Hamburg and he is known for establishing a church order in Hamburg which regulated finances and other church affairs such as the school curriculum. This order continued for 200 years, the old Church of St. Nicholas was the first large public building to burn in the great fire of May 1842. The destruction of the Church of St. Nicholas is described by chroniclers as a particularly moving event for the citizens and it was the first large building to burn, and was an indication of how catastrophic the fire would become. On 5 May the noon service held by preacher Wendt, who stood in for the minister Carl Moenckeberg, had to be cut short, one obviously did not count on the loss of the church as most art treasures were not saved. The tower was engulfed by the fire at four oclock in the afternoon. Despite desperate efforts, it was not possible to contain the fire due to the equipment of the day and it finally collapsed, setting the nave on fire and burning it completely
45.
Brussels
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Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the region of Flanders or Wallonia. The region has a population of 1.2 million and an area with a population of over 1.8 million. Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions, the secretariat of the Benelux and the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are also located in Brussels. Today, it is considered an Alpha global city, historically a Dutch-speaking city, Brussels has seen a language shift to French from the late 19th century onwards. Today, the majority language is French, and the Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. All road signs, street names, and many advertisements and services are shown in both languages, Brussels is increasingly becoming multilingual with increasing numbers of migrants, expatriates and minority groups speaking their own languages. The most common theory of the origin of Brussels name is that it derives from the Old Dutch Broekzele or Broeksel, meaning marsh, Saint Vindicianus, the bishop of Cambrai made the first recorded reference to the place Brosella in 695 when it was still a hamlet. The origin of the settlement that was to become Brussels lies in Saint Gaugericus construction of a chapel on an island in the river Senne around 580. The official founding of Brussels is usually situated around 979, when Duke Charles of Lower Lotharingia transferred the relics of Saint Gudula from Moorsel to the Saint Gaugericus chapel, Charles would construct the first permanent fortification in the city, doing so on that same island. Lambert I of Leuven, Count of Leuven gained the County of Brussels around 1000 by marrying Charles daughter, as it grew to a population of around 30,000, the surrounding marshes were drained to allow for further expansion. The Counts of Leuven became Dukes of Brabant at about this time, in the 13th century, the city got its first walls. After the construction of the city walls in the early 13th century, to let the city expand, a second set of walls was erected between 1356 and 1383. Today, traces of it can still be seen, mostly because the small ring, Brabant had lost its independence, but Brussels became the Princely Capital of the prosperous Low Countries, and flourished. In 1516 Charles V, who had been heir of the Low Countries since 1506, was declared King of Spain in St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral in Brussels. Upon the death of his grandfather, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1519 and it was in the Palace complex at Coudenberg that Charles V abdicated in 1555. This impressive palace, famous all over Europe, had expanded since it had first become the seat of the Dukes of Brabant. In 1695, during the Nine Years War, King Louis XIV of France sent troops to bombard Brussels with artillery, together with the resulting fire, it was the most destructive event in the entire history of Brussels
