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DELFT Tourist Information
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The charming Delft was founded in the year 1075. This city with a population of 85.000 inhabitants is justifiably famous for the blue-and-white pottery that Italian immigrant potters began making here in the 1600s.
Delft is also closely associated with the Dutch Royal Family, as it is a true "Oranjestad" (city of Orange-Nassau, the name of the Dutch dynasty). In the city's Nieuwe Kerk (New church) is the Mausoleum of William of Orange (called The Silent - 1533-1584), the "founding father" of the Dutch Nation. Delft was also home to one of Holland's greatest painters, Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) whose "view over Delft" is one of the masterpieces of Dutch painting.

The historic city center is of course the greatest attraction of Delft. It is crammed with 17th and 18th Century houses, streets that overlook canals, magnificent public buildings, outdoor markets, and a surprising number of museums for such a small town.

Some of Delft's highlights include: the "Grote Markt" (market) , the lively and historic marketplace in the heart of town, the "Oude Kerk", a Gothic church that was begun in the mid-1200s and completed in the 1500s, the "Nieuwe Kerk", where you can climb the church tower for a great view over Delft, the " Prinsenhof",  a former convent where William of Orange was assassinated in 1584.( today, the restored building houses Delft's municipal art museum),  the "Stadhuis", or city hall, which was built in 1618-1620 around remnants of the old town hall (including a 13th Century prison tower), the Waag, once the town weighhouse and now a café.
 

 

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