Delft Attractions

North of Delft's Prinsenhof, on the Oude Delft, is the Lambert van Meerten Museum, an important collection of applied art, with period furniture and paintings and an extensive display of Delft ware, all well displayed and presented on the museum's two floors.

The Delft fair has amalgamated with the Pan Amsterdam.

At Oude Delft is the Begijnhof, with a Late Gothic tower and a Baroque "hidden church" (built by Daniël Marot in 1743) in which Catholics worshipped in secret during the persecutions.

At Oude Delft 167 stands the Gemeenlandshuis (Dike Office) of the old County of Delfland (from 1644). In the early 16th century this was the residence of Jan de Sluyter, Dike-Master of Delfland and Burgomaster of Delft. The stone gable is decorated with handsome coats of arms.

Of interest in Delft is the Flower Market on Hippolytusbuurt.

At Rotterdamseweg 196, on the south side of Delft, is the Porceleyne Fles, the porcelain factory in which the Delft ware ("Delft Blue") which has been famed since the 17th century is still produced (showroom).

Visitors can tour the facility.

Behind the Delft Town Hall is the old municipal Weigh-House (Waag), now the Municipal Theater. Adjoining it is the Meat Hall (Vleeshal), identified by two ox-heads.

In the southern part of the Oude Delft is the 17th century Armamentarium (entrance at Korte Geer 1), the old Arsenal of the States of Holland (restored and extended in 1696). Since 1913 it has housed the Netherlands Military Museum. Traditionally the museum was confined to the postwar period, but it now also includes the collections of pre-1945 material previously to be seen in Leiden.

To the south of the Prinsenhof in Delft, at Agathaplein 4, is the small Nusantara Ethnographic Museum, with exhibits illustrating the cultures of Indonesia.

To the west of Delft's Oude Kerk is the Oude Delft, a canal traversing the town from north to south on which there are a number of picturesque old houses. Other interesting old houses are to be seen in the immediate vicinity of Oude Kerk, in Voorstraat, Hippolytusbuurt, the Wijnhaven and the Koornmarkt.

Going southeast from the choir of the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft along the Oosteinde canal, we come to the picturesque Oostpoort, situated at the junction of a number of canals at the southeast corner of the old town. The twin towers of this old town gate, built about 1400, were heightened in the 16th century by the addition of octagonal upper stories and pointed roofs. From here there are fine views of the town.

To the south of the Delft Town Hall, at Koornmarkt 67, the Paul Tétar van Elven Museum contains the collection assembled by the painter of that name (1823-96). With its old furniture and Delft tiles, the artist's studio is redolent of the atmosphere of its period. Van Elven was teacher of drawing at the Delft Polytechnic (now the University of Technology).

On the south side of the old town of Delft are the administrative offices of the University of Technology, originally founded in 1863. The modern university buildings lie in the southeast of the town, beyond the Rhine-Schie Canal.