![Gem-Delft-OpenTopo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Gem-Delft-OpenTopo.jpg)
Delft () is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
in the
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
of
South Holland
South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...
, Netherlands. It is located between
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
, to the southeast, and
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
, to the northwest. Together with them, it is part of both the
Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area
The Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area ( nl, Metropoolregio Rotterdam Den Haag) is a metropolitan area encompassing the cities of Rotterdam and The Hague as well as 21 other municipalities. It was founded in 2014. The area has a population of ...
and the
Randstad
The Randstad (; "Rim" or "Edge" City) is a roughly crescent-shaped conurbation in the central-western Netherlands, consisting primarily of the four largest Dutch cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht); their suburbs, and many tow ...
.
Delft is a popular tourist destination in the Netherlands, famous for its historical connections with the reigning
House of Orange-Nassau
The House of Orange-Nassau (Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the politics and government of the Netherlands ...
, for its
blue pottery, for being home to the painter
Jan Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer ( , , see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately succe ...
, and for hosting
Delft University of Technology
Delft University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Delft), also known as TU Delft, is the oldest and largest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. As of 2022 it is ranked by QS World University Rankings among ...
(TU Delft). Historically, Delft played a highly influential role in the
Dutch Golden Age
The Dutch Golden Age ( nl, Gouden Eeuw ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands, roughly spanning the era from 1588 (the birth of the Dutch Republic) to 1672 (the Rampjaar, "Disaster Year"), in which Dutch trade, science, and Dutch art, ...
. In terms of science and technology, thanks to the pioneering contributions of
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek ( ; ; 24 October 1632 – 26 August 1723) was a Dutch microbiologist and microscopist in the Golden Age of Dutch science and technology. A largely self-taught man in science, he is commonly known as " the ...
and
Martinus Beijerinck
Martinus Willem Beijerinck (, 16 March 1851 – 1 January 1931) was a Dutch microbiologist and botanist who was one of the founders of virology and environmental microbiology. He is credited with the discovery of viruses, which he called "''c ...
, Delft can be considered to be the birthplace of
microbiology
Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, prot ...
.
History
Early history
The city of Delft came into being beside a canal, the 'Delf', which comes from the word ''delven'', meaning to delve or dig, and this led to the name Delft. At the elevated place where this 'Delf' crossed the creek wall of the silted up river Gantel, a Count established his
manor
Manor may refer to:
Land ownership
*Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England
*Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism
*Man ...
, probably around 1075. Partly because of this, Delft became an important market town, the evidence for which can be seen in the size of its central market square.
Having been a rural village in the early Middle Ages, Delft developed into a city, and on 15 April 1246,
Count Willem II granted Delft its
city charter
A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (''charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages.
Traditionally the granting of a charter ...
. Trade and industry flourished. In 1389 the Delfshavensche Schie canal was dug through to the river
Maas, where the port of
Delfshaven
Delfshaven is a borough of Rotterdam, Netherlands, on the right bank of river Nieuwe Maas. It was a separate municipality until 1886.
The town of Delfshaven grew around the port of the city of Delft. Delft itself was not located on a major river ...
was built, connecting Delft to the sea.
Until the 17th century, Delft was one of the major cities of the then county (and later province) of
Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...
. In 1400, for example, the city had 6,500 inhabitants, making it the third largest city after
Dordrecht
Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...
(8,000) and
Haarlem
Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...
(7,000). In 1560, Amsterdam, with 28,000 inhabitants, had become the largest city, followed by Delft, Leiden and Haarlem, which each had around 14,000 inhabitants.
In 1536, a large part of the city was destroyed by the great fire of Delft.
The town's association with the
House of Orange
The House of Orange-Nassau (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current dynasty, reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the Politics and governm ...
started when
William of Orange (Willem van Oranje), nicknamed
William the Silent
William the Silent (24 April 153310 July 1584), also known as William the Taciturn (translated from nl, Willem de Zwijger), or, more commonly in the Netherlands, William of Orange ( nl, Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch Re ...
(Willem de Zwijger), took up residence in 1572 in the former Saint-Agatha convent (subsequently called the Prinsenhof). At the time he was the leader of growing national Dutch resistance against Spanish occupation, known as the
Eighty Years' War
The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...
. By then Delft was one of the leading cities of
Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...
and it was equipped with the necessary
city wall
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...
s to serve as a headquarters. In October 1573, an attack by Spanish forces was repelled in the
Battle of Delft.
After the
Act of Abjuration
The Act of Abjuration ( nl, Plakkaat van Verlatinghe; es, Acta de Abjuración, lit=placard of abjuration) is the declaration of independence by many of the provinces of the Netherlands from the allegiance to Philip II of Spain, during the Dut ...
was proclaimed in 1581, Delft became the ''
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
''
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
of the newly independent Netherlands, as the seat of the
Prince of Orange
Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by sovereigns in the Netherlands.
The title ...
.
When William was shot dead on 10 July 1584 by
Balthazar Gerards
Balthazar, or variant spellings, may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Balthazar'' (novel), by Lawrence Durrell, 1958
* ''Balthasar'', an 1889 book by Anatole France
* ''Professor Balthazar'', a Croatian animated TV series, 1967-1978
...
in the hall of the Prinsenhof (now the
Prinsenhof Museum), the family's traditional burial place in
Breda
Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...
was still in the hands of the Spanish. Therefore, he was buried in the Delft
Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), starting a tradition for the House of Orange that has continued to the present day.
Around this time, Delft also occupied a prominent position in the field of printing.
A number of Italian glazed earthenware makers settled in the city and introduced a new style. The tapestry industry also flourished when famous manufacturer François Spierincx moved to the city. In the 17th century, Delft experienced a new heyday, thanks to the presence of an office of the
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
(VOC) (opened in 1602) and the manufacture of
Delft Blue china.
A number of notable artists based themselves in the city, including
,
Carel Fabritius
Carel Pietersz. Fabritius (; bapt. 27 February 1622 – 12 October 1654) was a Dutch painter. He was a pupil of Rembrandt and worked in his studio in Amsterdam. Fabritius, who was a member of the Delft School, developed his own artistic style ...
,
Pieter de Hoogh
Pieter de Hooch (, also spelled "Hoogh" or "Hooghe"; 20 December 1629 (baptized) – 24 March 1684 (buried)) was a Dutch Golden Age painter famous for his genre works of quiet domestic scenes with an open doorway. He was a contemporary of ...
,
Gerard Houckgeest
Gerard Houckgeest (c. 1600–August 1661) was a Dutch Golden Age painter of architectural scenes and church interiors.
Biography
Houckgeest is thought to have been born in The Hague, where, according to the RKD, he learned to paint from Ba ...
,
Emanuel de Witte
Emanuel de Witte (1617–1692) was a Dutch perspective painter. In contrast to Pieter Jansz Saenredam, who emphasized architectural accuracy, De Witte was more concerned with the atmosphere of his interiors. Though few in number, de Witte als ...
,
Jan Steen
Jan Havickszoon Steen (c. 1626 – buried 3 February 1679) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, one of the leading genre painters of the 17th century. His works are known for their psychological insight, sense of humour and abundance of colour.
Life ...
, and
Johannes Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer ( , , #Pronunciation of name, see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period Painting, painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle class, middle-class life. ...
.
Reinier de Graaf
Regnier de Graaf (English spelling), original Dutch spelling Reinier de Graaf, or Latinized Reijnerus de Graeff (30 July 164117 August 1673) was a Dutch physician, physiologist and anatomist who made key discoveries in reproductive biology. He s ...
and
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek ( ; ; 24 October 1632 – 26 August 1723) was a Dutch microbiologist and microscopist in the Golden Age of Dutch science and technology. A largely self-taught man in science, he is commonly known as " the ...
received international attention for their scientific research.
Explosion
![Kruithuis](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Kruithuis.jpg)
The Delft Explosion, also known in history as the Delft Thunderclap, occurred on 12 October 1654 when a
gunpowder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...
store exploded, destroying much of the city. Over a hundred people were killed and thousands were injured.
About of gunpowder were stored in
barrels
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, u ...
in a
magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
in a former
Clarist convent
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
in the Doelenkwartier district, where the Paardenmarkt is now located. Cornelis Soetens, the keeper of the magazine, opened the store to check a sample of the powder and a huge explosion followed. Luckily, many citizens were away, visiting a market in
Schiedam
Schiedam () is a city and municipality in the west of the Netherlands. It is located in the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area, west of Rotterdam, east of Vlaardingen, and south of Delft. In the south the city is connected with the village ...
or a fair in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
.
Today, the explosion is primarily remembered for killing Rembrandt's most promising pupil,
Carel Fabritius
Carel Pietersz. Fabritius (; bapt. 27 February 1622 – 12 October 1654) was a Dutch painter. He was a pupil of Rembrandt and worked in his studio in Amsterdam. Fabritius, who was a member of the Delft School, developed his own artistic style ...
, and destroying almost all of his works.
Delft artist
Egbert van der Poel
Egbert van der Poel (9 March 1621, in Delft – 19 July 1664, in Rotterdam) was a Dutch Golden Age genre and landscape painter, son of a Delft goldsmith.
Life
Van der Poel may have been a student of Esaias van de Velde and of Aert van der ...
painted several pictures of Delft showing the devastation.
The gunpowder store (Dutch: Kruithuis) was subsequently re-housed, a 'cannonball's distance away', outside the city, in a new building designed by architect
Pieter Post
Pieter Post in 1651. Portrait by Pieter Nolpe, detail of a larger work
Pieter Jansz Post (1 May 1608 – buried 8 May 1669) was a Dutch Golden Age architect, painter and printmaker.
Biography
Post was baptised in Haarlem, the son of a ...
.
Sights
![Pieter Wouwerman - Gezicht op de Paardenmarkt te Delft](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Pieter_Wouwerman_-_Gezicht_op_de_Paardenmarkt_te_Delft.jpg)
The city centre retains a large number of monumental buildings, while in many streets there are
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...
s of which the banks are connected by typical bridges, altogether making this city a notable tourist destination.
Historical buildings and other sights of interest include:
*
Oude Kerk (Old Church), constructed between 1246 and 1350. Buried here:
Piet Hein,
Johannes Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer ( , , #Pronunciation of name, see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period Painting, painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle class, middle-class life. ...
,
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek ( ; ; 24 October 1632 – 26 August 1723) was a Dutch microbiologist and microscopist in the Golden Age of Dutch science and technology. A largely self-taught man in science, he is commonly known as " the ...
.
*
Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), constructed between 1381 and 1496. It contains the Dutch royal family's
burial vault which, between funerals, is sealed with a cover stone.
*A statue of
Hugo Grotius
Hugo Grotius (; 10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645), also known as Huig de Groot () and Hugo de Groot (), was a Dutch humanist, diplomat, lawyer, theologian, jurist, poet and playwright.
A teenage intellectual prodigy, he was born in Delft ...
created by in 1886, located on the Markt near the Nieuwe Kerk.
*The
Prinsenhof
The Prinsenhof ("The Court of the Prince") in the city of Delft in the Netherlands is an urban palace built in the Middle Ages as a monastery. Later it served as a residence for William the Silent. William was assassinated in the Prinsenhof by ...
(Princes' Court), now a museum.
*
City Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
on the Markt.
*The
Oostpoort
Oostpoort (; en, East Gate) is a neighborhood in the borough Amsterdam-Oost in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
The neighborhood is situated at between the Linnaeusstraat, the Ringvaart, the Amsterdam–Arnhem railway, and the Amsterdam–Zutphen railwa ...
(Eastern gate), built around 1400. This is the only remaining gate of the old city walls.
*The
Gemeenlandshuis
A Gemeenlandshuis, or Waterschapshuis is a building that is (or was formerly used as) the headquarters of one of the Waterboards of the Netherlands.
History
Early flood control in the Netherlands is often called the ''Teerschouw'', which lo ...
Delfland, or Huyterhuis, built in 1505, which has housed the Delfland regional
water authority since 1645.
*The
Vermeer Centre
The Vermeer Centre is an information center dedicated to the painter Johannes Vermeer and the work of his contemporaries in Delft, the Netherlands.
The building is a rebuilt version of the old local Guild of Saint Luke. The center works with loc ...
in the re-built
Guild house of St. Luke.
*The historical "Waag" building (Weigh house).
*Windmill
De Roos, a
tower mill
A tower mill is a type of vertical windmill consisting of a brick or stone tower, on which sits a wooden 'cap' or roof, which can rotate to bring the sails into the wind.Medieval science, technology, and medicine: an encyclopedia (2005), 520
Thi ...
built c.1760. Restored to working order in 2013.
Another windmill that formerly stood in Delft,
Het Fortuyn, was dismantled in 1917 and re-erected at the
Netherlands Open Air Museum
The Netherlands Open Air Museum ( nl, Nederlands Openluchtmuseum) is an open-air museum located in Arnhem with antique houses, farms, and factories from different parts of the Netherlands. It is a national museum focusing on the culture associated ...
,
Arnhem
Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...
,
Gelderland
Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...
in 1920.
*Royal Delft also known as De Porceleyne Fles, is a great place which showcases Delft ware.
*Science Center attracts kids as well as adults.
File:Delft stadhuis.jpg, Delft City Hall
File:Delft poorte.jpg, Eastern Gate (''Oostpoort'')
File:Delft Oude Kerk 002.jpg, The Old Church tower
File:Oude Langendijk Delft.jpg, Oude Langendijk
Culture
![Delft plate faience Famille Rose 1760 1780](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Delft_plate_faience_Famille_Rose_1760_1780.jpg)
Delft is well known for the
Delft pottery
Delftware or Delft pottery, also known as Delft Blue ( nl, Delfts blauw) or as delf,
is a general term now used for Dutch tin-glazed earthenware, a form of faience. Most of it is blue and white pottery, and the city of Delft in the Netherlands ...
ceramic
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...
products
which were styled on the imported
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
porcelain
Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...
of the 17th century. The city had an early start in this area since it was a home port of the
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
. It can still be seen at the pottery factories
De Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles (or Royal Delft) and
De Delftse Pauw
image:Delftse Pauw.jpg, 250px, De Delftse Pauw
De Delftse Pauw was a pottery factory from the 17th century located in the north of the city Delft (in the Netherlands) on the Delftweg (close to the Schie). It was one of the few pottery factories whi ...
, while new ceramics and ceramic art can be found at the
Gallery Terra Delft
Gallery Terra Delft is an Art dealer, art gallery in Delft specialized in ceramics and ceramic art from contemporary national and international ceramists. It was founded in 1986.
History Opening and first years
The gallery was founded by artis ...
.
[Kitty Kilian,]
10 jaar galerie Terra; Keramisch gezicht op Delft
" ''NRC Handelsblad,'' 23 May 1996.
The painter
Johannes Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer ( , , #Pronunciation of name, see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period Painting, painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle class, middle-class life. ...
(1632–1675) was born in Delft. Vermeer used Delft streets and home interiors as the subject or background in his paintings.
Several other famous painters lived and worked in Delft at that time, such as
Pieter de Hoogh
Pieter de Hooch (, also spelled "Hoogh" or "Hooghe"; 20 December 1629 (baptized) – 24 March 1684 (buried)) was a Dutch Golden Age painter famous for his genre works of quiet domestic scenes with an open doorway. He was a contemporary of ...
,
Carel Fabritius
Carel Pietersz. Fabritius (; bapt. 27 February 1622 – 12 October 1654) was a Dutch painter. He was a pupil of Rembrandt and worked in his studio in Amsterdam. Fabritius, who was a member of the Delft School, developed his own artistic style ...
,
Nicolaes Maes
Nicolaes Maes (January 1634December 1693 (buried 24 December 1693)) was a Dutch painter known for his genre scenes, portraits, religious compositions and the occasional still life. A pupil of Rembrandt in Amsterdam, he returned to work in his n ...
, Gerard Houckgeest and Hendrick Cornelisz. van Vliet. They were all members of the
Delft School. The Delft School is known for its images of domestic life and views of households, church interiors, courtyards, squares and the streets of Delft. The painters also produced pictures showing historic events, flowers, portraits for patrons and the court as well as decorative pieces of art.
Delft supports creative arts companies. From 2001 the , a building that had been disused since 1951, began to house small companies in the creative arts sector. Its demolition started in December 2009, making way for the new railway tunnel in Delft. The occupants of the building, as well as the name 'Bacinol', moved to another building in the city. The name Bacinol relates to
Dutch penicillin research during WWII.
Education
Delft University of Technology
Delft University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Delft), also known as TU Delft, is the oldest and largest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. As of 2022 it is ranked by QS World University Rankings among ...
(TU Delft) is one of
four universities of technology in the Netherlands. It was founded as an academy for civil engineering in 1842 by
King William II. Today, well over 21,000 students are enrolled.
The
UNESCO-IHE
IHE Delft Institute for Water Education is the largest international graduate water education facility in the world and is based in Delft, Netherlands. Delft is a world renowned knowledge centre on water infrastructure, technology and sciences, an ...
Institute for Water Education, providing postgraduate education for people from developing countries, draws on the strong tradition in
water management
Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. 97% of the water on the Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh water; slightl ...
and
hydraulic engineering
Hydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive use of gravity as the motive force to cause the mov ...
of the Delft university.
The Hague University of Applied Sciences
The Hague University of Applied Sciences ( nl, De Haagse Hogeschool), abbreviated THUAS, is a university of applied sciences with its campuses located in and around The Hague in the Randstad metropolitan region in the west of the Netherlands. Th ...
has a building on the Delft University of Technology campus. It opened in 2009 and offers several bachelor degrees for the Faculty of Technology, Innovation & Society.
Inholland University of Applied Sciences
Inholland University of Applied Sciences (; ; ) is a university of applied sciences with its campuses located in 8 different cities placed throughout the western Netherlands with an education campus in every main city of the Randstad – the coun ...
also has a building on the Delft University of Technology campus. Several bachelor degrees for the Agri, Food & Life Sciences faculty and the Engineering, Design and Computing faculty are being taught at the Delft campus.
Economy
In the local economic field, essential elements are:
*education; (amongst others
Delft University of Technology
Delft University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Delft), also known as TU Delft, is the oldest and largest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. As of 2022 it is ranked by QS World University Rankings among ...
) ( 21.651 students and 4.939 full-time employees),
*scientific research; (amongst others "TNO"
Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek (TNO; en, Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research) is an independent research organisation in the Netherlands that focuses on applied science.
The organisat ...
), Stichting Deltares, Nederlands Normalisatie-Instituut,
UNESCO-IHE
IHE Delft Institute for Water Education is the largest international graduate water education facility in the world and is based in Delft, Netherlands. Delft is a world renowned knowledge centre on water infrastructure, technology and sciences, an ...
Institute for water education,
Technopolis Innovation Park;
*tourism; (about one million registered visitors a year),
*industry; (DSM Gist Services BV, (
Delftware
Delftware or Delft pottery, also known as Delft Blue ( nl, Delfts blauw) or as delf,
is a general term now used for Dutch tin-glazed earthenware, a form of faience. Most of it is blue and white pottery, and the city of Delft in the Netherland ...
) earthenware production by
De Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles
The Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles N.V. (trading publicly as Royal Delft) is a Dutch manufacturer of Delft Blue earthenware, headquartered in Delft, the Netherlands. It is the only remaining factory out of 32 that were established in Delft during th ...
,
Exact Software Nederland BV, TOPdesk, Ampelmann)
*retail; (
IKEA
IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been t ...
(Inter IKEA Systems B.V., owner and worldwide franchisor of the IKEA Concept, is based in Delft), Makro, Eneco Energy NV).
Nature and recreation
![Delft Plantagegeer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Delft_Plantagegeer.JPG)
East of Delft lies a relatively large nature and recreation area called the "Delftse Hout" ("Delft Wood"). Through the forest lie bike, horse-riding and footpaths. It also includes a vast lake (suitable for swimming and windsurfing), narrow beaches, a restaurant, and community gardens, plus camping ground and other recreational and sports facilities. (There is also a facility for renting bikes from the station.)
Inside the city, apart from a central park, there are several smaller town parks, including "Nieuwe Plantage", "Agnetapark", "Kalverbos".
There is also the
Botanical Garden
A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
of the TU and an
arboretum
An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...
in Delftse Hout.
Notable people
![Ria Stalman 1982b](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Ria_Stalman_1982b.jpg)
Delft is the birthplace of:
Dutch Golden Age
*
the Elder, (ca. 1550–1601), portrait painter
*
Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt
Michiel Janszoon van Mierevelt, often abbreviated as Michiel Jansz. and the surname also spelled Miereveld or Miereveldt, (; 1 May 1566 – 27 June 1641) was a Dutch painter and draftsman of the Dutch Golden Age.
Biography
Van Mierevelt was ...
(1567–1641), painter
*
Willem van der Vliet
Willem van der Vliet (c. 1584 – 6 December 1642) was a Dutch Golden Age painter.
Biography
Van der Vliet was born and died in Delft. According to Houbraken his paintings are historical allegories and portraits. Records of his paintings ...
(c. 1584–1642), painter
*
Adriaen van de Venne
Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne (1589 – 12 November 1662), was a versatile Dutch Golden Age painter of allegories, genre subjects, and portraits, as well as a miniaturist, book illustrator, designer of political satires, and versifier.
Biog ...
(1589–1662), painter
*
Adriaen Cornelisz van Linschoten
Adriaen Cornelisz. van Linschoten (1590 in Delft – 1677 in The Hague), was a Dutch Golden Age painter.
Biography
According to Houbraken he was a regent of the Delft Guild of St. Luke (listed as Kornelis Adriaan Linschoten in 1627) and "some ...
(1590–1677), painter
*
Daniël Mijtens
Daniël Mijtens ( 1590 – 1647/48), known in England as Daniel Mytens the Elder, was a Dutch Golden Age portrait painter belonging to a family of Flemish painters who spent the central years of his career working in England.
Biography
...
(ca. 1590–1647/48), portrait painter
*
(1596–1674), painter of genre, religious, and history paintings
*
Pieter Jansz van Asch
Pieter Jansz van Asch (1603 – 6 June 1678 (buried)) was a Dutch Golden Age painter.
Biography
He was born at Delft, the son of the portrait painter Jan van Asch and joined the Guild of St. Luke in 1623.[Evert van Aelst
Evert van Aelst, sometimes known as Everard Aalst, (1602 in Delft – 19 February 1657 in Delft) was a Dutch still life painter.
Van Aelst was the uncle and teacher of Willem van Aelst. Both were famous for their still life paintings of game, ...]
(1602–1657), still life painter
*
Hendrick Cornelisz. van Vliet
Hendrick Corneliszoon van Vliet (1611/1612, Delft – buried October 28, 1675, Delft) was a Dutch Golden Age painter remembered mostly for his church interiors.
Biography
He studied under his uncle Willem van der Vliet and was admitted to the ...
(ca. 1611–1675), painter of church interiors
*
Harmen Steenwijck
Harmen Steenwijck or Harmen Steenwyck ( 1612 – after 1656) was a Dutch Golden Age painter who specialised in still life painting, especially in the style of Dutch vanitas.
Early life
Steenwyck was born in Delft, 1612. He was the brother of P ...
(ca. 1612–ca. 1656), painter of
still life
A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...
s and fruit
*
Jacob Willemsz Delff the Younger
Jacob Willemsz Delff the Younger (1619, Delft – 1661, Delft), was a Dutch Golden Age portrait painter.
Biography
According to Houbraken he won a lucrative commission from the Delft ''vroedschap'' to repair his grandfather's schutterstuk af ...
(1619–1661), portrait painter
*
David Beck
David Beck (or Beek; May 25, 1621December 20, 1656), was a Dutch Golden Age portrait painter.
Biography
Beck was born in Delft, and was named after his uncle, a well-known poet from Arnhem.[Egbert van der Poel
Egbert van der Poel (9 March 1621, in Delft – 19 July 1664, in Rotterdam) was a Dutch Golden Age genre and landscape painter, son of a Delft goldsmith.
Life
Van der Poel may have been a student of Esaias van de Velde and of Aert van der ...]
(1621–1664), genre and landscape painter
*
Daniel Vosmaer
Daniël Vosmaer (c. 1630 in Delft – after 1666 in Brielle, Den Briel), was a Dutch Golden Age painter.
Biography
According to the RKD, he was the son of the silversmith Arent Wouteresz, the younger brother of Abraham Vosmaer, Abraham, the ...
(1622–1666), painter
*
(1627–1683), artist of
still-life
A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, boo ...
s
*
Hendrick van der Burgh
Hendrick van der Burgh (1627 – after 1664), was a Dutch Golden Age genre painter.
Biography
According to the Netherlands Institute for Art History (RKD) he was born in Delft and was a member of the same "school" or artistic style as Piet ...
(1627–after 1664), genre painter
*
Johannes Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer ( , , #Pronunciation of name, see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period Painting, painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle class, middle-class life. ...
(1632–1675), painter of domestic interior scenes
*
Ary de Milde
Ary de Milde (1634 – 1708) was a Dutch Golden Age ceramist in Delft.
Milde was born in Delft and is known for developing a type of red stoneware imitation teapot that competed with the popular imported Yixing clay teapots. After the war between ...
(1634–1708), ceramist
Public thinking and service
*
Christian van Adrichem (1533—1585), Catholic priest and theological writer
*
Jan Joosten van Lodensteijn
Jan Joosten van Lodensteyn (or Lodensteijn; 1556–1623), known in Japanese as Yayōsu (耶楊子), was a native of Delft and one of the first Dutchmen in Japan, and the second mate on the Dutch ship ''De Liefde'', which was stranded in Japan in ...
(1556–1623), one of the first Dutchmen in Japan
*
Hugo Grotius
Hugo Grotius (; 10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645), also known as Huig de Groot () and Hugo de Groot (), was a Dutch humanist, diplomat, lawyer, theologian, jurist, poet and playwright.
A teenage intellectual prodigy, he was born in Delft ...
(1583–1645), humanist, diplomat, lawyer, theologian and jurist who laid the foundations for
international law
International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
*
Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange
Frederick Henry ( nl, Frederik Hendrik; 29 January 1584 – 14 March 1647) was the sovereign prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 1625 until his death in 1647. In the last ...
(1584–1647), sovereign
prince of Orange
Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by sovereigns in the Netherlands.
The title ...
and
stadtholder
In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...
of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders & Overijssel from 1625 to 1647
*
Philippus Baldaeus
Philips Baelde or Father Philippus Baldaeus, (baptized on 24 October 1632, Delft – 1671, Geervliet) was a Dutch minister. He went to Jaffna during the Dutch period in Ceylon with an invading Dutch force. As the second European after Abrah ...
(1632–1671), minister in
Jaffna
Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...
*
Diederik Durven
Diederik Durven (13 September 1676 – 26 February 1740) was a Dutch colonial administrator and Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1729 to 1732.
Durven studied Law at Leiden University where he graduated on 19 July 1702. He became an ...
(1676–1740),
Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies
The governor-general of the Dutch East Indies ( nl, gouverneur-generaal van Nederlands Indië) represented Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949. Occupied by Japanese fo ...
from 1729 to 1732
*
Abraham van der Weijden
Abraham van der Weijden, a Dutch citizen, was a ship’s captain and the initiator of Freemasonry in South Africa.
Personal life
Van der Weijden was born in Delft, The Netherlands in 1743. He married Johanna Slegge on 29 July 1764. He died in So ...
(1743–1773), ship's captain, initiated of
Freemasonry in South Africa
Freemasonry was brought to South Africa by members of the Grand Orient of the Netherlands in 1772. Today there are lodges chartered under the United Grand Lodge of England, the Grand Lodge of Scotland, the Grand Lodge of Ireland, the Grand Lodge o ...
*
Gerrit Paape
Gerrit Paape ( Delft, 4 February 1752 – The Hague, 7 December 1803) was a Dutch ''plateelschilder'' (painter of earthenware and stoneware), poet, journalist, novelist, judge, columnist and (at the end of his career) ministerial civil servant.
L ...
(1752–1803), painter of earthenware and stoneware, poet, journalist, novelist, judge, columnist and finally a ministerial civil servant
*
Aegidius van Braam
Aegidius van Braam (30 July 1758 in Gorinchem – 17 May 1822 in Delft) was a Dutch naval officer who attained the rank of vice-admiral. When the Dutch Republic was overrun by French Revolutionary troops in 1795, he remained loyal to the House of ...
(1758–1822), naval
vice-admiral
*
Agneta Matthes
Agneta Wilhelmina Johanna van Marken-Matthes (4 October 1847 – 5 October 1909) was a Dutch entrepreneur. She and her husband were involved in the manufacture of yeast throughout their lives, and were engaged in the co-operative movement, ta ...
(1847–1909), entrepreneur, manufactured yeast using the
cooperative movement
The history of the cooperative movement concerns the origins and history of cooperatives across the world. Although cooperative arrangements, such as mutual insurance, and principles of cooperation existed long before, the cooperative movement bega ...
and housed workers at
Agnetapark
Agnetapark was an area of workers' housing in Delft, South Holland, the Netherlands. It was one of the highest quality workers' housing areas built before the Housing Act of 1902 was imposed. It was 'transformed' from a marshy area of land to a ' ...
*
Henk Zeevalking
Hendrik Jan "Henk" Zeevalking (7 June 1922 – 23 February 2005) was a Dutch politician and co-founder of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist.
Zeevalking attended a Gymnasium in Utrecht from April 1934 until June 1940 and applied at the Utr ...
(1922–2005), politician and jurist
*
Piet Bukman
Pieter Bukman (7 February 1934 – 15 March 2022) was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and economist.
Biography
Bukman attended a Gymnasium in Delft from April 1946 until June 1952 and applied at ...
(born 1934), politician and diplomat
*
Klaas de Vries (born 1943), politician and jurist
*
Atzo Nicolaï
Atzo Nicolaï (22 February 1960 – 19 August 2020) was a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businessman.
Education and early career
Nicolaï attended a Montessori Gymnasium Rotterdam from April 1972 ...
(born 1960), politician
*
Marja van Bijsterveldt
Janneke Marlene "Marja" van Bijsterveldt-Vliegenthart (born 27 June 1961) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). She has been mayor of Delft since 2 September 2016.
Early life
Van Bijsterveldt attended nursing scho ...
(born 1961), politician, Mayor of Delft since 2016
*
Alexander Pechtold
Alexander Pechtold (born 16 December 1965) is a retired Dutch politician and art historian. He is a member of Democrats 66.
Pechtold studied Archaeology and Dutch Golden Age painting, History of Dutch Art at the Leiden University obtaining a Ma ...
(born 1965, politician and art historian
Science and business
*
Adolphus Vorstius (1597–1663), physician and botanist
*
Martin van den Hove
Martin (Maarten) van den Hove (Latinized as Martinus Hortensius (Ortensius)) (1605 – 7 August 1639) was a Dutch astronomer and mathematician. His adopted Latin name is a translation of the Dutch ''hof'' ("garden"), in Latin ''horta''.
Early li ...
(1605–1639), astronomer and mathematician
*
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek ( ; ; 24 October 1632 – 26 August 1723) was a Dutch microbiologist and microscopist in the Golden Age of Dutch science and technology. A largely self-taught man in science, he is commonly known as " the ...
(1632–1723), father of
microbiology
Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, prot ...
and developer of the
microscope
A microscope () is a laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic means being invisibl ...
*
Nicolaas Kruik
Nicolaas Samuelszoon Kruik ( la, Nicolaus Samuelis Cruquius; 2 December 1678, West-Vlieland – 5 February 1754, Spaarndam), also known as Klaas Kruik and Nicolaes Krukius, was a Dutch land surveyor, cartographer, astronomer and weatherman. He is ...
(1678–1754), land surveyor, cartographer, astronomer, weatherman and eponym of the
Museum De Cruquius
The Museum De Cruquius (or Cruquiusmuseum) occupies the old Cruquius steam pumping station in Cruquius, the Netherlands. It derives its name from Nicolaas Kruik (1678–1754), a Dutch land-surveyor and one of many promoters of a plan to pump ...
*
Martin van Marum
Martin(us) van Marum (20 March 1750, Delft – 26 December 1837, Haarlem) was a Dutch physician, inventor, scientist and teacher, who studied medicine and philosophy in Groningen. Van Marum introduced modern chemistry in the Netherlands after ...
(1750–1837), physician, inventor, scientist and teacher
*
Jacob Gijsbertus Samuël van Breda
Jacob Gijsbertus Samuël van Breda (24 October 1788, in Delft – 2 September 1867, in Haarlem) was a Dutch biologist and geologist.
Jacob was the son of Jacob van Breda, a Dutch physician, physicist and politician, and Anna Elsenera van Campe ...
(1788–1867), biologist and geologist
*
Philippe-Charles Schmerling
Philippe-Charles or Philip Carel Schmerling (2 March 1791 Delft – 7 November 1836, Liège) was a Dutch/Belgian prehistorian, pioneer in paleontology, and geologist. He is often considered the founder of paleontology.
In 1829 he discovered ...
(1791–1836), prehistorian, geologist and pioneer in
paleontology
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
*
Martinus Beijerinck
Martinus Willem Beijerinck (, 16 March 1851 – 1 January 1931) was a Dutch microbiologist and botanist who was one of the founders of virology and environmental microbiology. He is credited with the discovery of viruses, which he called "''c ...
(1851–1931), microbiologist, discovered
virus
A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea.
Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's 1 ...
es, lived and worked in Delft
*
Guillaume Daniel Delprat
Guillaume Daniel Delprat CBE (1 September 1856 – 15 March 1937) was a Dutch-Australian metallurgist, mining engineer, and businessman. He was a developer of the froth flotation process for separating minerals.
Delprat was born in Delft, the ...
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(1856–1937), metallurgist, mining engineer and businessman
*
Frederik H. Kreuger (1928–2015), high-voltage scientist, academic and inventor
*
Marjo van der Knaap
Marjo S. van der Knaap (born 9 May 1958) is a Dutch professor of pediatric neurology at VU University Amsterdam and the VU University Medical Center. She was a winner of the 2008 Spinoza Prize. Her research focuses on white matter disorders.
Ea ...
(born 1958), professor of pediatric neurology,
white matter
White matter refers to areas of the central nervous system (CNS) that are mainly made up of myelinated axons, also called tracts. Long thought to be passive tissue, white matter affects learning and brain functions, modulating the distribution ...
researcher
*
Peter Schrijver
Peter Schrijver (; born 1963) is a Dutch linguist. He is a professor of Celtic languages at Utrecht University and a researcher of ancient Indo-European linguistics. He worked previously at Leiden University and the Ludwig Maximilian University o ...
(born 1963), historical linguist
*
Ionica Smeets
Ionica Smeets (born 8 October 1979) is a Dutch mathematician, science journalist, columnist, television presenter and professor in science communication at Leiden University.
Biography
Ionica Smeets was born in Delft, where she completed her pr ...
(born 1979), mathematician, science journalist, TV presenter and academic
*
Boyan Slat
Boyan Slat (born 27 July 1994) is a Dutch inventor and entrepreneur. A former aerospace engineering student, he is the CEO of The Ocean Cleanup.
Initial interest in plastic pollution
In 2011, aged 16, Slat found more plastic than fish while div ...
(born 1994), inventor and entrepreneur, CEO of
The Ocean Cleanup
The Ocean Cleanup is a nonprofit environmental engineering organization based in the Netherlands, that develops technology to extract plastic pollution from the oceans and intercept it in rivers before it can reach the ocean. After initial test ...
Art
*
Suzanne Manet
Suzanne Manet (, ; ; 30 October 1829 – 8 March 1906) was a Dutch-born pianist and the wife of the painter Édouard Manet, for whom she frequently modeled.
Suzanne
An excellent pianist, Leenhoff was initially hired in 1851 by Manet's father, ...
(1829–1906), pianist, wife and model of painter
Édouard Manet
Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism.
Born ...
*
Betsy Perk
Christina Elizabeth (Betsy) Perk ( Delft, March 26, 1833 - Nijmegen, March 30, 1906), was a Dutch author of novels and plays, and a pioneer of the Dutch women's movement, who wrote under the pen names Philemon, Liesbeth van Altena, and Spirito. Sh ...
(1833–1906), author of novels and plays, pioneer of the Dutch women's movement
*
Ton Lutz
Antonius Cornelis "Ton" Lutz (17 June 1919, in Delft – 3 May 2009, in Amsterdam) was a Dutch actor and artistic leader. His two younger brothers, Luc and Pieter, were also actors, as well as his nephew Joris Lutz. He was married to actress Ann H ...
(1919–2009) and
Pieter Lutz
Pieter Lutz (13 August 1927 – 20 August 2009) was a Dutch actor best known for his role as Fred in the Dutch sitcom ''Het Zonnetje in Huis''. His older brothers Ton and Luc were also actors and he is the uncle of Dutch actor Joris Lutz.
Lutz g ...
(1927–2009), brothers and actors
*
Bram Bogart
Bram Bogart (July 12, 1921 – May 2, 2012) was a Belgian expressionist painter most closely associated with the COBRA group.
Early life and education
Abraham van den Boogaart was born in Delft, the Netherlands, the son of Abraham van den Boogaa ...
(1921–2012), expressionist painter of the
COBRA group
*
Cor Dam
Cornelis (Cor) Dam (April 26, 1935 – July 29, 2019) was a Dutch artist, who has been active as sculptor, painter, illustrator and ceramist.
Life and work
Born in Delft, Dam studied at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. After graduating he ...
(born 1935), sculptor, painter, illustrator and ceramist
*
Kader Abdolah
Hossein Sadjadi Ghaemmaghami Farahani ( fa, حسین سجادی قائممقامی فراهانی, better known by his pen name Kader Abdolah ( fa, قادر عبدالله, links=no) (Arak, 12 November 1954), is an Iranian-Dutch writer, poe ...
(born 1954), poet and columnist
*
Michèle Van de Roer
Michèle Van de Roer (born September 12, 1956 in The Netherlands at Delft) is a contemporary French artist: a painter, designer, photographer, and engraver.
Life
Van de Roer was born in Delft. She studied formally at the École d'Arts de Valence ...
(born 1956), artist, designer, photographer and engraver
*
Mariska Hulscher
Mariska Hulscher (born 8 March 1964, in Delft) is a Dutch TV presenter who worked for the NCRV, RTL 4, and RTL 5. Hulscher is also a columnist for a variety of magazines, and works as a divorce coach.
Education, career
After getting her VWO dip ...
(born 1964), TV presenter
*
Wessel van Diepen
Wessel Dietrich van Diepen (born 12 November 1966) is a Dutch radio host, music producer, voice actor and former TV presenter. Under the pseudonym DJ Delmundo, he is part of Danski & Delmundo, the production duo behind internationally famous act ...
(born 1966), radio host, music producer and former TV presenter
*
Rob Das
Rob Das (born 12 May 1969, in Delft, Netherlands) is a Dutch film and television actor, director and writer. His movie appearances include in '' The Damned'' (2002), ''Baby Blue'' (2001), and '' De Zwarte Meteoor'' (2000). His TV appearances inc ...
(born 1969), film and TV actor, director and writer
*
Jan-Willem van Ewijk (born 1970), film director, actor and screenwriter
*
Ricky Koole
Ricky Koole (born 11 September 1972) is a Dutch singer and film actress. She appeared in more than forty films since 1996.
Personal life and career
Koole graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of the Arts from the ''Kleinkunstacademie'' in Amsterdam ...
(born 1972) a Dutch singer and film actress
*
Vincent de Moor
Vincent de Moor (; born 1973, Delft, Netherlands) is a Dutch trance artist. He is most notable for his work with the record producer Ferry Corsten under the working title, " Veracocha," and for his 2001 single, "Fly Away".
Musical career Early ...
(born 1973),
trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged from the British new-age music scene and the early 1990s German techno and hardcore scenes.
Trance music is characterized by a tempo generally lying between 135–150 beats per minute ( ...
ian and remixer
*
Roel van Velzen
Roel van Velzen (; born 20 March 1978), better known as VanVelzen, is a Dutch singer-songwriter. Besides being known for his short stature, he and his band enjoy a huge live reputation; they have played at virtually every festival in the Nether ...
(born 1978), singer
*
Marly van der Velden
Marly van der Velden (born 6 January 1988 in Delft) is a Dutch actress and fashion designer.
Biography
van der Velden enjoyed dancing from a young age; at the age of 15 in 2003 she took part as a Latin dancer in the Dutch championships for debu ...
(born 1988), actress and fashion designer
Sport
*
Jan Thomée (1886–1954), footballer, team bronze medallist at the
1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...
*
Henri van Schaik (1899–1991), horse rider, team silver medallist in the
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...
*
Tinus Osendarp
Martinus "Tinus" Bernardus Osendarp (21 May 1916 – 20 June 2002) was a Dutch sprint runner.
Sporting career
Osendarp was a football player and started training in sprint for fun. His first international success came at the 1934 European Champi ...
(1916–2002), sprint runner, twice bronze medallist at the
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...
*
Stien Kaiser (born 1938), speed skater, twice bronze medallist at the
1968 Winter Olympics
The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. Frenchm ...
and gold and silver medallist in the
1972 Winter Olympics
The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 ( ja, 札幌1972), was a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Europe ...
*
Pieter van der Kruk
Pieter "Piet" van der Kruk (13 August 1941 – 4 June 2020) was a Dutch heavyweight weightlifter and shot putter. He won five national weightlifting titles (1964, 1965, 1967–1969) and four shot put titles (1964, 1965, 1967 and 1969), and held ...
(born 1941), heavyweight weightlifter and shot putter, competed at the
1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...
*
Jan Timman
Jan Timman (born 14 December 1951) is a Dutch chess grandmaster who was one of the world's leading chess players from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. At the peak of his career, he was considered to be the best non-Soviet player and was known as ...
(born 1951), chess grandmaster, raised in Delft
*
Ria Stalman
Maria "Ria" Geertruida Stalman (born 11 December 1951) is a retired discus thrower and shot putter from the Netherlands.
Biography
She won the gold medal in the discus throw at the 1984 Summer Olympics, which earned her the Dutch Sportswoman ...
(born 1951), discus thrower and shot putter, gold medallist in the discus at the
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
*
Frank Leistra
Frank Jan Anton Leistra (born 1 April 1960 in Delft) is a former field hockey goalkeeper from the Netherlands, who was a member of the Dutch team that won the bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.
Leistra played a total numbe ...
(born 1960), field hockey goalkeeper, team bronze medallist at the
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...
*
Ken Monkou
Kenneth John Monkou (born 29 November 1964) is a Dutch former professional Association football, footballer and pundit.
As a player, he was as a centre-back who notably played in the Premier League for both Chelsea F.C., Chelsea and Southampton ...
(born 1964), football player with 356 club caps
*
Eeke van Nes (born 1969), rower, team bronze medallist at the
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
and team silver medallist at the
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
*
Thamar Henneken
Thamar Nanette Henneken (born 2 August 1979 in Delft, South Holland) is a former freestyle swimmer from the Netherlands, who was a member of the Dutch Women's 4×100 m freestyle relay team that won the silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympi ...
(born 1979), freestyle swimmer, team silver medallist at the
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
*
Ard van Peppen (born 1985), footballer with over 350 club caps
*
Sytske de Groot
Sytske de Groot (born 3 April 1986 in Delft) is a Dutch rower. She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics where she won the bronze medal in the Rowing at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's eight, Women's eight.
As of 2012, she was a stud ...
(born 1986), rower, team bronze medallist at the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
*
Aaron Meijers
Aaron Meijers (born 28 October 1987) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a left back for Eredivisie club Sparta Rotterdam. He formerly played for FC Volendam, RKC Waalwijk and ADO Den Haag.
Club career
Meijers was born in Delft. A ...
(born 1987), footballer with almost 400 club caps
*
Michaëlla Krajicek
Michaëlla Krajicek ( cz, Michaela Krajíčková; born 9 January 1989) is a Dutch former tennis player. She won three singles and five doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as one WTA 125 tournaments, WTA 125 doubles title, and 14 singles and ...
(born 1989), tennis player
*
Arantxa Rus
Arantxa Rus (; born 13 December 1990) is a Dutch tennis player. In 2008, she won the girl's singles title at the 2008 Australian Open – Girls' singles, Australian Open, defeating Jessica Moore (tennis), Jessica Moore from Australia in the final ...
(born 1990), tennis player
*
Victoria Pelova
Victoria Pelova (; born 3 June 1999) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Women's Super League club Arsenal and the Netherlands national team.
Career
Pelova represented Netherlands at the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World ...
(born 1999), football player
*
Tijmen van der Helm
Tijmen van der Helm (born 26 January 2004) is a Dutch racing driver currently competing in the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship with ARC Bratislava, and the 2022 European Le Mans Series with TDS Racing.
Personal life
Van Der Helm was b ...
(born 2004), racing driver
Miscellaneous
![Nuna3atZandvoort1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Nuna3atZandvoort1.JPG)
*
Nuna
Nuna is the name of a series of manned solar powered race cars that have won the World Solar Challenge in Australia seven times: in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2015 and 2017. The vehicles are built by students who are part of the "Brunel Sol ...
is a series of manned solar-powered vehicles, built by students at the Delft University of Technology, that won the
World solar challenge
The World Solar Challenge (WSC), since 2013 named Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, is an international event for solar powered cars driving 3000 kilometres through the Australian outback.
With the exception of a four-year gap between ...
in Australia seven times in the last nine competitions (in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2015 and 2017).
*The so-called "
Superbus
Superbus (Latin for superb, proud, arrogant) may refer to:
* Superbus (band), a French pop-rock band formed in 1999
* 18596 Superbus, a Main-belt asteroid discovered on January 21, 1998
* Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (before 535 BC – 496 BC), th ...
" project aims to develop high-speed coaches capable of speeds of up to together with the supporting infrastructure including special highway lanes constructed separately next to the nation's highways; this project was led by Dutch astronaut professor
Wubbo Ockels
Wubbo Johannes Ockels (28 March 1946 – 18 May 2014) was a Dutch physicist and astronaut with the European Space Agency who, in 1985, became the first Dutch citizen in space when he flew on STS-61-A as a payload specialist. He later becam ...
of the Delft University of Technology.
*Members of both Delft Student Rowing Clubs
Proteus-Eretes
)
, emblem =
, image =
, blade_image = Proteusblad.jpg
, motto =
, location = Delft, Netherlands
, coordinates =
, home_water =
, founded = Merger of VRV Proteus and DSR Eretes i ...
and Laga have won many international trophies, including Olympic medals, in the past.
*The Human Power Team Delft & Amsterdam, a team consisting mainly of students from the Delft University of Technology, has won The World Human Powered Speed Challenge (WHPSC) four times. This is an international contest for
recumbents
A recumbent bicycle is a bicycle that places the rider in a laid-back reclining position. Most recumbent riders choose this type of design for ergonomic reasons: the rider's weight is distributed comfortably over a larger area, supported by ba ...
in the US state of Nevada, the aim of which is to break speed records. They set the
world record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
of 133.78 kilometres an hour (83.13 mph) in 2013.
International relations
Twin towns
Delft is
twinned with:
Transport
*
Delft railway station
Delft is the main railway station of the city of Delft, South Holland, Netherlands. It is located on the oldest railway line in the country, between the stations of The Hague Central and Rotterdam Central. Along with a new 2.3 km rail tunn ...
; (As of February 2015, located in a new building.)
*
Delft Campus railway station
Delft Campus railway station is a railway station in Delft, Netherlands, located on the railway line between The Hague and Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in th ...
Trains stopping at these stations connect Delft with, among others, the nearby cities of
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
and
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
, as often as every five minutes, for most of the day.
There are several bus routes from Delft to similar destinations.
Tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
s frequently travel between Delft and
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
via special
double track
A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.
Overview
In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lin ...
s crossing the city.
See also
*
Delftware
Delftware or Delft pottery, also known as Delft Blue ( nl, Delfts blauw) or as delf,
is a general term now used for Dutch tin-glazed earthenware, a form of faience. Most of it is blue and white pottery, and the city of Delft in the Netherland ...
*
Delft School (
Dutch Golden Age painting
Dutch Golden Age painting is the painting of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history roughly spanning the 17th century, during and after the later part of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) for Dutch independence.
The new Dutch Republ ...
)
*
Dutch Golden Age
The Dutch Golden Age ( nl, Gouden Eeuw ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands, roughly spanning the era from 1588 (the birth of the Dutch Republic) to 1672 (the Rampjaar, "Disaster Year"), in which Dutch trade, science, and Dutch art, ...
*
List of films set in Delft
The following is an incomplete list of films set or shot primarily in Delft, The Netherlands.
* De Lucha Boys (2010)
* Girl with a Pearl Earring (film) (2003)
* Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
References
{{Reflist
External links
* https ...
*
RandstadRail
RandstadRail () is a light rail network in the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area in the west of the Netherlands that is jointly operated by HTM Personenvervoer (HTM) and Rotterdamse Elektrische Tram (RET). It connects the cities of Rotte ...
*
Tanthof
Tanthof is a quarter in the South of Delft, the Netherlands. It was built in the 1970s and 1980s and consists mainly of low-rise buildings. The area is divided in two parts, Tanthof-East and Tanthof-West.
West and East
Tanthof-West and Tanthof-E ...
Gallery
Notes
References
*
Further reading
*
*Vermeer: A View of Delft, Anthony Bailey, Henry Holt & Company, 2001,
External links
Municipal Website of Delft*
Radio Netherlands
Radio Netherlands (RNW; nl, Radio Nederland Wereldomroep) was a public radio and television network based in Hilversum, producing and transmitting programmes for international audiences outside the Netherlands from 1947 to 2012.
Its services i ...
The day the world came to an end*
National Gallery, London
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
A View of Delft after the Explosion of 1654TU Delft Develop Ambulance Drone
{{Authority control
Cities in the Netherlands
Municipalities of South Holland
Populated places in South Holland
Industrial fires and explosions