Wijk bij Duurstede Attractions
The little town of Wijk bij Duurstede is situated at the point where the Rhine becomes the Lek and the little Kromme Rijn branches off and flows northwest. In the early medieval period this was the site of an important inland port town, Dorestad, which was devastated by the Norsemen in the ninth century.
The ruins of the castle that once dominated the town still remain.
The ruins of the castle that once dominated the town still remain.
Castle Ruins at Wijk bij Duurstede
The settlement of Wijk bij Duurstede grew up around a castle built here in the 13th century. During the Middle Ages this was a residence of the bishops of Utrecht, the most famous of whom was Bishop David of Burgundy (15th C.), who gathered many of the leading figures of the day around him. In the early 18th century the castle fell into ruin, and there now remain only a few fragments of walls, a square keep and a round corner tower (15th C.) with a diameter of 15m/50ft.
Culemborg, Netherlands
(Near Wijk bij Duurstede)
West of Wijk bij Duurstede, on the Lek, lies Culemborg. The town, which received its municipal charter in 1318, contains many buildings which are now protected as national monuments, like the Grote Kerk (St Barbarakerk), the Town Hall and St Elisabethsweeshuis (St Elizabeth's Orphanage). Part of the old fortifications was converted into a park in the first half of the 19th century.
There are walls that enclose Culemborg with moat-like canals that encircle the exterior. The canals also divide the town into three sections.
There are walls that enclose Culemborg with moat-like canals that encircle the exterior. The canals also divide the town into three sections.
Grote Kerk
The Markt, in the center of the old town, is dominated by the Grote Kerk (14th C.; unfinished), a cruciform basilica the great size of which no doubt shows the influence of the bishops of Utrecht. The massive tower is richly articulated, with balustrades, buttresses and deep niches.
Town Hall
The Town Hall (Stadhuis), a sober building with a high entrance staircase, was built by Gijsbert van Vianen and Peter van Cooten (1666).
Town Walls
In addition to some remains of walls Wijk has preserved one of the town gates, the Rijnmolenpoort, on which is the Rijn en Lek windmill, a flour mill built in 1659. In spite of appearances, however, this is not the windmill depicted in Jacob van Ruisdael's painting "Windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede" (now in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam), which stood some 200m/220yd farther west.
