Let's explore Middelburg and its beautiful monuments

Read the previous episode here.

In this episode, I would like to explore with you the main sights of my city. Some of them I have already addressed in my first post, but I will go into more detail in this post.

The Lange Jan

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Many people consider the Lange Jan the symbol of the city. It is the bell tower of the old monastery, which is located in the city center. The tower is approx. 91 meters high. It was initially built in the late 14th century, but it has been heavily damaged three times due to fire. The last time was in 1940, during the Second World War. Visitors can climb the tower up to the half way mark.

The Abbey

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Since the 12th century, monks resided in the old monastery of the city. However, it was taken over by Catholic Norbertine priests who originally came from the city of Antwerp. In 1401, the abbey was under direct jurisdiction of the pope. The monastery life ended in 1574, when the Dutch rebels of William of Orange besieged the city. Although William promised to leave the Catholics alone, he ended their activities by force.

Today, various institutions reside in the abbey: the provincial administration, the local university, and the provincial museum.

The Oostkerk

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The Oostkerk, or East church, is one of the pinnacles of the city. It is a protestant church that was built in 1648. Due to its age and the lack of restauration, there are currently no services held in the church.

The Koepoort

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The Koepoort, or Cow gate, was one of eight gates to the city. It was built in 1735 and it is the only gate remaining today.

The Kuiperspoort

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The Kuiperspoort is a street in the city center. The gate that leads to the street was built in 1586 and bought by the Kuipersgilde (Coopers' guild), hence the name of the street.

The Kloveniersdoelen

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The Kloveniersdoelen is a building where riflemen used to practice their shooting. It was built in the year 1607 and has a Flemish Renaissance style façade. Under French rule, the building served as a military hospital.

The Synagogue

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The city's synagogue was built in 1705 in the backyard of a Jewish resident. It is the second synagogue that has ever been built in the Netherlands. During WWII, it was used to store seized radios and it was heavily damaged by a British grenade during the liberation of the region. It had to wait till 1994 for it to be fully restored.

The Old Warehouses and Quays

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Middelburg has a channel that runs around the city, which is also connected to a larger channel that leads to the sea. Alongside the channels, you can find many old warehouses that stem from the Dutch Golden Age. Middelburg used to be an important merchants' city in the region and so a lot of goods were shipped through there. Today, most of the warehouses still stand and are used to live and work in.

That's all for today!

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