Utrecht Roman Wall, The Opening Mark 3

The Domplein and the Domtower look like an oase of peace on a Sunday morning.

You hardly believe that in the year 47 a fortress was built by the Romans when they navigated on the Rhine and arrived at a dry area, where now the Dom Place is.

Here they built their fortress, called a castellum.

Studies found out where this castellum was exactly situated and marks of light and mist show the outlines of this castellum.

This night the third mark was officially opened at the Korte Nieuwstraat. The other two marks are situated at the Domstraat and Servetstraat.

It's really strange when you walk in these streets and suddenly the earth seemes to open and "steam and green light" come out from a crack in the street.

By led light the colour also can turn to blue or pink.

Utrecht Church Night & Church Cross

Friday 19 June the

"Church Night" was the opening of the project

“Visiting Churches in Utrecht”.

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The night was officially opened by the mayor.

The support came from the concert of the Cathedral Choir School Utrecht.

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After the opening in a lot of churches were all kind of activities.

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It’s no wonder that Utrecht has so many churches for in the Utrecht history the bishops and emperors played a big role in building churches, especially in the 11th century.

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The main five churches in the centre have - accidentally or not -

been built in the form of a Church Cross (see drawing above).

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The story tells that after the death of Koenraad II (+/- 990-1039) (Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire) his son Hendrik III ordered to built 4 churches around the St. Salvator (1010) (now the rebuilt Dom Church).

In fact around the hearth of his father, that was burried in the St. Salvator church.

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A more likely theory is that the place of the churches had everything to

do with the solid soil.

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These other four churches are the churches of St.Pieter (1048), St. Paulus Abby (1050), St.Marie (1085), St. Jan (1040)

Utrecht Wharfs and Trade

In 1122 a dam was erected in the Rhine
near Wijk bij Duur-
stede

The conse-quence was,that
the water level in Utrecht lowered.

The city had to prevent that the traders would come into difficulties now, for the water ways could not be used anymore for transport of goods.

That’s why a new canal was dugged, the Vaartse Rhine with first a connection to the Hollandse IJssel (from Ledig Erf, Utrecht to the river Lek near Vreeswijk).

A second connection was made between the Vaartse Rhine to the Stathe (a trading centre near the present town hall) and this connection was called the (Oude) Gracht.

The tides of the water, however,were still effected by the tides of the Rhine for there was an open connection.

As a solution sluices were built to regulate the level of the canal and to keep that level constant low.

The lower water level made it possible now to make corridors from the storage cellars of the houses directly to the canal(gracht), for the water wouldn’t come into the houses anymore.

And in this way the entrance of the cellars came much close to the water.
In front of the cellars a wharf (kade) was built.
That made it easier to load the goods over from the boats to the cellars.

In 1402, when the trade increased, there was even a hoisting crane to pick up the goods from the boats.

On the peinture as well as on the memorial stone you see a part of the wharf in the still existing corner near the town hall.

Utrecht Stadsdag (2) City Day: The Two Documents

In 1122 the bishop
Godebald ruled the

city.(read the nice

backgrounds

in the to be enlarged

AD article)

He wanted to reclaim (ontginnen) the peat (veengronden) in the Kromme Rijn area.
He also wanted to build a dam in the Kromme Rijn near Wijk bij Duurstede.
This would mean that the city wasn’t easy to reach for ships anymore, so also a canal had to be duged (Vaartse Rijn).

It is clear that it would cost a lot of money to the furious citizens of Utrecht.

In 1122 the Emperor Hendrik V resided at that time at his Palace Lofen (on the Dom Square now) and it is possible that he wanted to mediate between the citizens and the bishop.

However, short after Whitsuntide the servants of the bishop attacked the courtiers (hovelingen) of the emperor. The Utrecht citizens helped the emperor and the bishop was arrested.

Imagine what a lot of people were involved on that small area.

Godebald was forced by Hendrik V to renunciation and to grant city rights to the city.

There are two documents parchments (perkament) on sheep skin. The first one (45x65 cm) contains the rights.
The second one (46x80 cm) contains details about the charge of toll.

Both were signed at Palace Lofen on Sunday 2 June 1122 and signed by the seal of the emperor.

On the right side of the close up of the document you can read (after enlarging) the name of Godebald, 3rd sentence from below.

Utrecht Stadsdag (1) City Day: The 1st Anniversary

Today is the first anniversary of the Stadsdag, the birth-day of the city of Utrecht, for on June 2, 1122 the city received City rights. Today the city is 887 years old.

The tradition is that on a birthday "beschuit met muisjes" (biscuit with sucred aniseed in a form that could be a micro mouse) is eaten.

For boys the colour is blue and white, for girls the colour is pink and white and for Utrecht the colour is red and white, for these colours are the colours of the flag of city.

Also the flags on the Dom Tower and the flag in front of the Town Hall waved their red-white colours for this special occasion.

This year the celebration is a bit sober for it was hardly a month ago, on 7 May, that the Utrecht Party Leefbaar Utrecht presented a motion to celebrate this day.

But nevertheless compliments to the Catharijne Convent (museum) and the Utrechtse Archief which quickly organized this day.

Utrecht During The French Period

After the Romains,
the Spaniards and the German
you should easily forget that

Holland was also "visited" by the French

At the Ledig Erf in Utrecht is a statue on which you see the flight of the French from Holland in 1813.

On January 16 1795 the French of Napoleon, crossed the frozen rivers under command of General Pichegru to occupy the Netherlands.
It was the sign to the stadtholder Prince Willem V to flee to England.

In Holland started the Bataafs-French period (1975-1813)

This period was – how curious –not too bad for Holland.

Besides the black side of the war, the French modernized political and social sectors and reorganized the government. Among others the Code Civil was introduced.

In 1806 the Netherlands became a kingdom under the first King , Napoleon’s brother Lodewijk Napoleon.
This kingdom lasted till 1810 when Napoleon annexed Holland.

In 1813 the Cossacks and Prussians liberated the Netherlands from the French and chased the French over the border (see also the first picture near the Wittevrouwenpoort near the Biltstraat).

The son of stadtholder Willem V became king Willem I.

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Text in the plaquette: "De Fransen verlaten Utrecht den 23 november 1813" (The French leave Utrecht 23 November 1813).

Utrecht The Rainbow of Sint Pieter

In the past
(11th century)
in Utrecht were
“normal”
churches
for the citizens, and so called
“kapittel”
churches for the clergy, the canons (kanunniken).

Kings used to grant pieces of ground to such an abbey, cloister, or cathedral (kapittel church) with special rights.
Such an abbey or church, surrounded with their pieces of ground, formed a so called immunity.

The civil right didn’t count for these immunities.

They were immune for the secular (wereldse) life. Only the religion justice system counted, and no town council or police could do anything within these immunities

The immunities were separated from the rest of the city (and other communities) by walls and/or canals.

One of these immunities was the immunity of the Saint Pieter (1048) and this immunity was separated by a canal, now known as the Kromme Nieuwe Gracht.

The curve that you see is, that’s why, called “The Rainbow of St. Pieter” that surrounded a big part of the immunity.

Near the corner is a console of Jeannot Bürgi.

You see the city of Utrecht, the canals and of course the church the St.Pieter in the foreground. Above the city is a rainbow. Far above the cloudes is St. Pieter looking upstairs to heaven(?).

The only possibility to make this picture was from the water by the electric- or ”whisper” boat which makes regulary a beautiful trip throught the old small canals of the city.