Drogenaps Tower - Zutphen, Netherlands
N 52° 08.353 E 006° 11.852
32U E 308225 N 5780226
Drogenaps Tower was built in 1444 as a new gate for the south entrance to Zutphen, an important town during the Medieval era in The Netherlands. So important, in fact, it was part of the Hanseatic League.
Waymark Code: WMPP4K
Location: Gelderland, Netherlands
Date Posted: 09/29/2015
Views: 6
Drogenaps Tower was built in 1444 as a new gate for the south entrance to Zutphen, an important town during the Medieval era in The Netherlands.
In 1555 the musician Thonis van Grol, nicknamed Drogenap, lived in the tower and it bears his name until this day. There is a hollow statue of van Grol next to the tower and if you are petit enough you can squeeze inside.
Zutphen was already founded before the arrival of the Romans. An originally Frankish settlement developed in the Carolingian and Ottonian dynasties into the administrative centre for the Duchy of Hamaland. Shortly after 882, when the settlement was plundered by the Vikings during their raids of the entire Rhineland, a circular fortress was built encompassing some 10 hectares of land. In the mid-11th century, on the orders of the German Emperor Henry III, a 53 metre-long royal palace was built on the Gravenhof. The governor of the city, in office since 1046, Imperial Bishop Bernold of Utrecht, then founded and built a new chapel church, predecessor of today’s St. Walburgis church. Even in the 12th century, the city enjoyed considerable importance (with its own Mint).
The settlement received town rights around 1195 which entitled the city to its own administrative powers, it own courts, annual and weekly markets, customs freedoms and numerous other privileges. Because of its favourable position on the banks of the IJssel, and because of its trading privileges, the city attracted numerous merchants, above all from the Rhineland. The city enjoyed a period of rapid growth in the 13th century.
From the 13th century onwards, Zutphen was a member of the Hanseatic League, trading with England, Flanders, Denmark and the Baltic cities. During the Middle Ages, Zutphen enjoyed the status of capital of the County of Zutphen. From 1339 onwards, it belonged to the Grand Duchy of Guelders.
Zutphen suffered badly during the 80-years war. On 10 June 1572, Zutphen which had until then been broadly Catholic was taken by the protestants, who immediately committed an iconoclasm. Just five months later, on 8 November, Zutphen was retaken for the Catholic Spanish by the troops of the Duke of Alba. This conquest was accompanied by a true massacre, during which some 800 residents of Zutphen were killed. Finally in 1591, Maurice, Prince of Orange regained Zutphen for the Dutch. Prince Maurice started work on a major project, the aim of which was to provide Zutphen with the latest defensive works according to the traditional Dutch system. Zutphen’s status as a walled city also had a demographic influence. In around 1670, Zutphen had around 5000 citizens and a further 2500 garrison soldiers. Until the dismantling of the fortifications in 1874, soldiers remained a regular feature of life in Zutphen. Since that time, Zutphen has served as a provincial town and gateway to the Dutch border region the Achterhoek. Industry started to play a meaningful role in the 19th century, when railway links were established between Zutphen and Amsterdam and Arnhem.
Date Built: 1444
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This category is focused only to original Gothic architecture, not to pseudo-Gothic, neo-Gothic or Gothic Revival. You can not find this kind of architecture outside of "Old World", moreover this architecture appeared in ca XIIth century (early Gothic) and the last buildings are from cca XVIth (late Gothic) century...