Some of my happiest experiences abroad have been walking around small cities or towns, admiring hidden gardens, or exploring narrow streets that sometime give on to beautiful vistas, or spotting little architectural details, like this glowing blue tile on a shopfront in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.
‘s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands is a small city that is eminently walkable, displaying lots of architectural details you’d never spot if you weren’t walking.
I wondered if this is supposed to be Moses watching his brother Aaron the priest, turning his staff into a serpent? Or vice versa?
I was delighted to discover that the tourist office in ‘s-Hertogenbosch provides a brochure describing a self-guided walking tour which among other things, helped me spot some of those charming little elements. While it didn’t solve the mystery of the guy holding what looks to be a snake, it did provide a lot of other interesting explanations and stories.
I thought you might like to come along with me on that tour.
The tourist offices in The Netherlands are designated as ‘VVV’. In ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the VVV office is located in the de Moriaan, thought to be the oldest brick building in the city.
I picked up my map and was exhorted to start by admiring the Markt, or market place.
On Saturday, when the market was in full swing, I saw beautiful flowers there.
I had not seen such a variety of fruits and vegetables in a market outside of Cuenca, Ecuador. Even the French markets would be hard pressed to compare.
John would love having access to such a market, because among other things, they offered nuts. All kinds of nuts.
The Markt is the oldest quarter of the city, founded in 1185 by Duke Hendrik of Brabant. The mix of modern and ancient is particularly harmonious here. One modern sight that caught my eye was this amusing bumper sticker.
It wasn’t on the tour map.
The walking guide suggested I pay attention to street names, because the old ones often contain information.
Tweede Korenstraat for example, means Second Corn Street and was used by farmers bringing corn to the Markt.
The next street was Karrenstraat, not named after a woman named Karen, but rather the carts people used to park here.
My attention was drawn to a beautiful gabled house.
Before there were street numbers, houses were given names. This one is called “In de Put”.
My guide didn’t say why the house was called “In the Well”. Instead it waxed enthusiastic about the gables on the house.
This type of ornately decorated, curved gable is called “Vingboom” after the 17th century architect who invented the design. The Roman numerals tell us the house was built in 1670. Like so many houses in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, it is beautifully preserved.
Continuing on to Korenbrugstraat, you can see the Zoete Lieve Gerritje, “the symbol of the kindhearted, cheerful local spirit”.
Basically a chick with a chick.
‘s-Hertogenbosch doesn’t have as many canals as Amsterdam, but its charm is certainly due in part to waterways like the Binnendieze, an urban waterway fed by the Dommel and Aa rivers. It runs not just through the city, but often, under it.
Next we head to Lepelstraat. A ‘lepel’ was a measure, possible used for weighing grain. This area however, was a fish market.
A shrine with a very old statue of the Virgin Mary is set up on the wall. This is not its original placement, but when the street was redeveloped, the Virgin was retained.
This particular statue was associated with a 14th century processional route, or ‘Omgang’. Some of those who survived the Black Death believed that Mary had healed them. A route was traced through the houses of the miraculously healed and a procession with this statue took place there for many years.
Crossing over from this street brings us to other bridge at the end of the old docks. The lovely house facing the old docks has a sign as well.
The “Golden Sturgeon” reminds us that there used to be a fish market here, before it moved to Lepelstraat.
Next up is the Wilhelminabrug (the Wilhelmina Bridge).
It spans the Dommel River, which formed (and still forms I suppose) a moat around the city. You can see the remains of the original city walls, with the bases of defensive towers.
The carvings on the bridge pillars are modern. They represent scenes from the history of ‘s-Hertogenbosch.
At the end of the bridge is the first modern extension of the old city, called ‘Het Zand’ (The Sand) because it was built on reclaimed land. Although the houses looks modern, they are all 20th century constructions.
I fell in love with the little turrets and towers.
This street leads to the railway station, but you have to get past a dragon first.
Going back into the old city, you come to the newly built ‘Bolwerk’. This stands where a city gate used to be, but now serves as the departure point for boat tours around the waterways of ‘s-Hertogenbosch.
Turning into Sint Janstraat, we are now on what used to be one of the only ways into the city from the old gate. The Keershuis was built in the 1400s. Someone did a good business from that house, selling candles to light carriages which were on their way out of the city at night.
Now we enter one of the prettiest areas in a very pretty city, ‘de Uilenburg’. This was originally the warehouse district. When the city docks were closed, it fell into decline. It was gentrified and restored in the 1970s. Some of those warehouses have been sensitively converted into houses.
Others have become shops. This one used to be an urban farmhouse with an extended hay barn.
There are original elements, like decorated doors.
One seems to be an antique shop, which is appropriate.
One has a very modern front, but gives a shout out to the tradition of naming houses. This book collector called his house “Int Constigh Boec” which means “In The Artful Book”.
The very streets preserve the past. This intersection has old round stones on each side to prevent cart axles from damaging the wall. On one side, the building wall has an indent to make it easier for carts to get around the narrow bend.
There is a college down here which is a beautiful as the rest. It seems to be a rather romantic setting for the “Academy of Data Science”.
The Binnendieze flows gracefully under and around the buildings here.
The spanning arch through which the water flows is known as a ‘toog’.
At the entrance to the de Uilenberg area, “De Halve Peer” reminds us that the Oeteldonk carnival season here is a celebrated with great gusto.
He is a carnival ornament. No word on why there is only half of him.
The old livery stable is the white building where the Binnendieze disappears beneath. It’s now a restaurant.
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It has a swan over the door.
I don’t know how secure I would feel dining in the overhang area though.
We walk past the place where a hostel for refugees stood in medieval times, and enter an area of upscale houses.
That one was a favourite of mine, even though it is not as imposing as the Boxtel house.
A little further along is the former Mint, with a late Gothic gateway.
Silver and copper coinage was minted here in the 1600s. It is now a private house, but I stuck my camera through the gates to get a photo of the Gothic turret.
In Snellestraat, one can see down the small alley where a Beguinage once operated.
The Beguines were religious women who wanted to serve God, but who did not want to give up their secular life to become nuns. The organisation was founded in the 1100s in the Netherlands.
Minderbroederstraate is named for the Franciscan Minorite monastery, the oldest one in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. It no longer exists.
The red and grey paving stones show where the city wall used to be about 1200.
We come out of this street back to the Markt where we will pause for now.
There is still a lot more to be seen in this beautiful city. Join me for Part II.