Imaging The Netherlands 038: Dutch Bark in Groningen (GR)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

038: Dutch bark

Groningen is a city with a lot of history. Its origin is unsure – some even tried to refer to expelled people from Troy, led by the legendary figure Guno, that settled there. More likely, the first settlers must have arrived in the region about 1700 years ago. As happened with many historic cities in the Netherlands, Groningen gained a canal system (‘grachtengordel’) as a means of defense against invaders. The canal system in Groningen is called the ‘Diepenring’. The boat in the photograph is a Dutch bark, most probably a ‘tjalk’: a flatbottom vessel that is used for transport over the Dutch waterways. There are still many Dutch barks in circulation: some of them have been transformed into “woonboten’, barks used for permanent residence.

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2010, 2017

Advertisement

Imaging The Netherlands 029: Maurits Monument on Herenbrug, Den Haag (ZH)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

029: Maurits Monument

Like Amsterdam, The Hague also has a Canal District: de Grachtengordel. During the Twelve Years’ Truce (1609-1621) of the Eighty Years’ War (1568-1648) or the Dutch Independence War, Prince Maurice de Nassau ordered the construction of the Canal District as a defense system. However, they’ve never been used actively in the defense of the city. The Koninginnegracht (Queen’s Canal) as seen in the photograph, is one of these canals. At the Heerenbrug (Patrician’s Bridge), this monument commemorates the completion of the Canal District in 1619. The monument, inaugurated in 1932, was sculpted by Joop van Lunteren. The personages in the relief are a soldier, prince Maurice, prince Frederic Henry, probably Christian Huygens or Simon Stevin, and some builders.

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2010, 2017