Naarden

Apart from studying, I have also undertaken some more traditionally entertaining activities during the course of the holidays. For one, I went to Brugge, to visit the (already finished) Charles the Bold exposition in the Groeningemuseum, which was excellent and featured many courtly objects, both art and practical, from all over Europe. I didn’t take any pictures, but you can go here for my earlier photographs of the city. Brugge has of course not changed at all since then.

I also went to Naarden, a medieval city that was properly fortified in the late 17th century. It fell to the French during their 1672 invasion, because the defences were by then seriously outdated. The Dutch recaptured it in the following year and modernised the defences. Being in the province of Holland, it wasn’t exactly a frontier fortress, but its importance lay in shielding off Muiden and Amsterdam – and as Muiden was a pivotal strategic position when it came to flooding the countryside as a defensive measure, Naarden still fulfilled an appreciated position.

Naarden never became a proper city – its walls contained the population while the moats (and strict laws regarding the expansion of fortress cities) seriously hampered construction outside. Because of this, the fortress is almost perfectly preserved, as one of few Dutch cities. This also means that the best shots of the city can not be made from the ground. This wikipedia image shows what I mean. But below you can find the photographs I took myself.

There are more than a few similarities to make between Naarden and Brugge. Both are entirely surrounded by water, both have a very high percentage of monumental buildings within the moats and both still appear to be quite authentic cities from the past. There are arguments to make here about neo-architecture being used to make part of the buildings appear to be old, rather than actually being so, but on the whole this does not lessen the experience in either case (although I believe that most of the buildings in Brugge are not medieval but 16th/17th century, so the marketing is somewhat off there).

Something that could have been similar is the isolation offered by the moated settlements, but it is still quite distinct. Naarden is a unique little city because the walls and gates are still in place, so that there are only three roads allowing cars into the city. This might create some congestion in the holiday season, but it mostly gives the centre a very secluded and peaceful atmosphere. You can saunter through the streets and not get run over by cars every 50 metres. In Brugge this is only partially mirrored. Although parts of the city offer the same serene atmosphere, on the whole the place is simply too busy with tourists. Although there are many beautiful and quiet areas if you move away from the main squares, the Belfort and city hall are just too beautiful and the tourists there too much of a presence to ignore. There’s also many more cars inside, while the greater size of it all makes it less compact and clear, giving a reduced ‘ooh what a lovely small city’ feel to it.

Moat and wall

The Vitus church in Naarden, also the Comenius museum

The covered road leading into the fortress

One of the ravelins in the fortress moat

Courtine and bastion

An artillery piece on the main bastion and a ravelin in the moat