Why go
The Nieuwe Kerk and Prinsenhof connect Delft directly with the Dutch revolt against Spanish rule. The city also carries the associations of Johannes Vermeer and scientist Antony van Leeuwenhoek. These strands give its canal setting more depth than a purely architectural visit.
What to look for
- The Nieuwe Kerk links Delft with the burial history of the House of Orange.
- The Prinsenhof was the site of William of Orange’s assassination in 1584.
The full story
Delft developed beside a dug canal called the Delf, a name related to the Dutch verb for digging. The settlement received its city charter in 1246. Water was therefore part of both its early development and its name. Its link with the House of Orange began when William of Orange took up residence in 1572. As a leader of the revolt against Spanish rule, he used the fortified city as a headquarters. He was assassinated in the Prinsenhof in 1584. With the family’s traditional burial place in Breda under Spanish control, he was buried in Delft’s Nieuwe Kerk, beginning the dynasty’s association with that church. Another event reshaped the city in 1654, when a gunpowder store exploded. The painter Carel Fabritius died from his injuries. This catastrophe forms a separate chapter in Delft’s history, alongside the political story and its better-known artistic and ceramic traditions.
Useful to know
- Consider Delft alongside The Hague or Rotterdam; it lies between the two cities.