Delft - Netherlands

Delft is a lovely dutch town between Rotterdam and Den Haag. I've been there last year!! 

Almost every trip has a not so happy moment and on this trip to the Netherlands, that moment happed in Delft when I got to the Market Square and realized that the New Church (Nieuwe Kerk) was under renovation work and the façade was covered. Damn it.... I hate when that happens. I couldn't take decent pictures and I wanted to buy at least a card of the church because I though I didn't have any. How much did I have to pay for a normal size card? 1€! Damn it again. 

I thought I didn't have any cards of the Nieuwe Kerk but I actually already had one, an official that arrived in 2012. Last week got another one with several images of the city. The 3rd of these cards is the one I bought there.

© TROPHEE B. V. www.trophee.nl

NL-3404984, sent by Lisette.

Delft's picturesque Old Town is ringed by canals and home to many churches and old houses. In addition to being a university city, it has long been associated with trades and industry, in particular the manufacturing of Delftware, a world-famous form of pottery that has been around since the 17th century and is now experiencing a comeback (much of the town's most significant architecture dates from the 1700s when the pottery's popularity was at its peak). Delft is also well known as the birthplace of 16th-century scholar and statesman Hugo Grotius; painter Jan Vermeer, whose famous View of Delft is in the Mauritshuis in The Hague; and 17th-century scientist Antoni van Leeuwenhoek. Today, the city is a vibrant cultural and tourist hub, home to many fine museums and numerous entertainment opportunities.

Van Leer's - Print Web & Design

NL-1469438, sent by Wilma.

In Delft's spacious Market Square (Markt), the majestic New Church (Nieuwe Kerk) is, in fact, anything but new. Built between 1396 and 1496, this splendid church's Gothic tower rises 108 meters above the large square, offering great views and pleasant chimes from its 17th-century carillon. Of note is a monument to King William I, who died in Berlin in 1843, as well as a memorial relief of Prince Frederick William of Orange, who died in 1799. A marble monument of Hugo Grotius, along with his burial place, can also be visited. 

 The church's most important feature, however, is the magnificent tomb of William I of Orange (William the Silent), one of the great masterpieces of Dutch Baroque sculpture made by Hendrick de Keyser between 1614-21. Richly decorated under a white canopy borne on black marble columns is a white figure of William surrounded by bronze allegorical figures including Justice (with scales), Freedom (with scepter and hat), Valor (clad in a lion's skin), and Faith (with a book and a model of a church). In a vault below the tomb 41 princes and princesses of the house of Orange are buried (including Queen Wilhelmina, who died in 1948). - in: http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/delft-nl-zh-del.htm