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The Times {Weekend}
Keyword:
Delft
UK Saturday 5, March 2016 46,47 520 sq. cm ABC 404155 Daily page rate £16,645.00, scc rate £75.00 020 7782 5000
The ideal place for
a good potter
The canalside roads and alleys of Delft still hark back to the Dutch Golden Age, writes Tony Dawe
T
hey say that Delft is a city masquerading as a market town and it is true, from its skyline down to the lazy waters of its encircling canals. The two immense churches — old and new — assert its city credentials but they look down on cobbled streets, innumerable low bridges and the gentle bustle of everyday commerce conducted back and forth across the water. Barely a half-hour drive from the Hook of Holland ferry port, this is a city to be explored on foot or by bike, weaving from canalside to canalside through alleyways where specialist shops and unassuming restaurants are hidden. It doesn’t take long to complete a tour of the compact old town, enclosed by canals where laden barges used to arrive from the North Sea, so visitors are inevitably drawn to Markt, one of the largest market squares in Europe. Commanding the eastern end, its spire rising to 350 feet, is New Church, so called because work started on it in 1383, a century after the Old Church a couple of streets away. Facing it is the Renaissancestyle town hall and behind it, shops and cafés with names and façades that recall the city’s Golden Age: the butter market, the weighing house and the gold and silversmiths’ guild. That period spawned Delft’s two famous assets, still attracting visitors from around the world: hand-crafted blue pottery, and Johannes Vermeer. A visit to Royal Delft, the oldest manufacturer dating back to 1653, demonstrates the modelling, painting and firing of pottery and exhibits different styles and colours
created over the centuries. For a few extra euros it is possible to enter the workshop to paint your own tile, plate or vase and await its arrival back home after firing. Vermeer spent most of his life in Delft, being born in the city in 1632 and buried in the family grave in the Old Church in 1675. The artist’s work is celebrated in the Vermeer Centre on the street where he lived. Copies of his 37 paintings and the history behind them are displayed and an exhibition examines his mastery of light. It is a sore point in Delft that the city possesses none of his originals but that will change, for three months at least, when The Little Street goes on display from March 13 in the Prinsenhof Museum, the former home of William of Orange. Vermeer’s most memorable portrait, Girl with a Pearl Earring, is exhibited in the compact and delightful Mauritshuis in The Hague, together with View of Delft and Diana and her Companions and masterpieces by Rembrandt and Rubens. A 15-minute drive from the centre of Delft and easily combined with it on a long weekend break, The Hague is a city of broad boulevards, large squares, imposing institutions and a towering financial centre. But it, too, has its secret places, especially in the Noordeinde district. Enter 37 Oude Molstraat and a door on the right leads into a secret chapel, dating from the days when Catholicism was outlawed. Continue under the arch at the end of the street, press the buzzer beside a door marked 27a and find yourself walking into the back garden of the Royal Palace, built in the grand 17th century French style. Ambling around the historic sites and shopping avenues is surprisingly relaxing
in such a busy city and the best starting point is Buitenhof square. On one side is the Inner Court, containing the Knights Hall dating back to the 13th century. On the other the main shopping streets, including the Passage, an arcade reminiscent of London’s Burlington Arcade. Whatever else you do, find time to visit Panorama Mesdag, an extraordinary 360-degree painting of Scheveningen, The Hague’s seaside resort. 6 Tony Dawe was a guest of Stena Line which operates daytime and overnight sailings from Harwich to Hook of Holland. He stayed at Hotel De Plataan in Delft and Boutique Hotel Corona in The Hague.
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It is a sore point in Delft that the city possesses none of Vermeer’s original paintings
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Source: Edition: Country: Date: Page: Area: Circulation: Ad data: Phone:
The Times {Weekend}
Keyword:
Delft
UK Saturday 5, March 2016 46,47 520 sq. cm ABC 404155 Daily page rate £16,645.00, scc rate £75.00 020 7782 5000
The imposing steeple of New Church dominates much of Delft’s old town
Reproduced by Gorkana under licence from the NLA (newspapers), CLA (magazines), FT (Financial Times/ft.com) or other copyright owner. No further copying (including printing of digital cuttings), digital reproduction/forwarding of the cutting is permitted except under licence from the copyright owner. All FT content is copyright The Financial Times Ltd.
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