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Delft - History

The city of Delft is situated half-way between Rotterdam and the Hague. It is part of the ‘Randstad’, an urban agglomeration consisting of Amsterdam (the capital as well as the financial and cultural centre), the Hague (seat of government), Rotterdam (largest harbour in the world, petrochemical industries and world oil centre) and a number of smaller cities (see map). The Randstad forms a semi-circle with a radius of about sixty kilometres (forty miles). The centre of this semi-circle is agricultural, the various cities - each of which has a unique character - specialize in trade, industry and services. With 4.5 million inhabitants, the Randstad is one of the most important urban agglomerations in Europe. Because of Delft University of Technology, Delft is one of its main educational and research centres.

Delft borders the agricultural centre of the Randstad and is built on reclaimed marsh land; it is a polder area. In the 13th century Delft was granted city rights by the Count of Holland. The medieval town was protected by sturdy walls and 8 gates. Today, only the ‘Oostpoort’ (Eastern Gate) remains. Also in the 13th century the Old, or St. Hippolytus Church, was built. In the 14th and 15th century the New, or St. Ursula Church, was erected. During our national war of independence from Spain in the 16th and 17th century, Delft was a city of great importance. It was the residence of Prince William of Orange, the leader of the rising against the King of Spain and founder of our present royal dynasty. Prince William was killed in his home the ‘Prinsenhof’, near the Old Church, in 1584. Until the 18th century, Delft was a major industrial, cultural and scientific centre. Beer from Delft was famous and so was its pottery (Delft Blue). The Delft school of painting numbered among its own many renowned artists like Johannes Vermeer, Jan Steen, Willem van Aelst. Delft was also the home town of the scientist Antoni van Leeuwenhoek and the lawyer Hugo Grotius.

Because of the constant wars with France and England in the 17th and 18th centuries, trade and industry deteriorated. After the Napoleonic wars, Delft was a poor and insignificant city. This first changed in 1842, with the establishment of the Royal Academy (‘Koninklijke Academie’) for the training of civil engineers. In 1905 this Polytechnic School was made a technological university (‘Technische Hogeschool’), in 1986 it was renamed Delft University of Technology (‘Technische Universiteit Delft’). The presence of the Royal Academy and its successors was a strong stimulus to the revival of the industry and the importance of Delft. The city population grew fast, especially after the Second World War. In 1940 Delft had 55,000 inhabitants, today almost 90,000.
Of course, housing became a major problem, and new quarters were built outside the old city. The Technische Hogeschool, which had its departments scattered over Delft, also expanded and could no longer be accommodated within the environs of the old city. All departments were relocated and concentrated in one large area, the TU district (‘TU-wijk’).

In spite of the war and the rapid population growth, the old centre of Delft remained almost completely intact. An ambitious restoration programme has further conserved its old splendour which attracts many tourists from all over the world and they, together with the 13,000 students, make Delft a lively and pleasant place.

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