The Hanseatic city of Zwolle

Sunshine!  A photograph taken this morning, from the same place that I took the last photograph, when it was very windy and rainy, showed we now have blue skies and sunshine plus a warm day.    Thank goodness.    

Although I am sitting inside writing this blog, my view out of the door is of the above scene.   Then I will go back to the caravan and sit outside in the sunshine.   

But back to the blog.   A visit to Zwolle, one of seven Hanseatic cities situated along the river IJssel.   These towns, during the 14th and 15th centuries, formed a traders union that lead to enormous prosperity and wealth.  They were also cities of commerce and culture.   

The cities were also part of the Hanseatic League, which was a commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Northwestern and Central Europe.   They started in the late 1100s, and dominated the Baltic and North Seas trade for many centuries.  German colonists in the 12th and 13th centuries settled in numerous cities along the Baltic and Northern coasts, which had an impact on the local languages, culture and architecture.   

A fascinating subject.

It took just over an hour to travel north by train from Utrecht to the city of Zwolle in the northern eastern part of the Netherlands.   It is also the capital of the province of Overijssel. 

The railway station was about a 12 minute walk into the town centre, which was surrounded by water, and from the town map, it looked like it was once a fortified island.

The walk in was very pleasant, through beautiful houses, built in the early 1900s, then via a path by the large canal. 

I was dressed for cooler weather, but thankfully the sun shone now and again, and it did not rain.

Views of the canals, without me in them.

Very serene.

A beautiful old house.

A view back towards the large old houses built in the early 1900s.  Many wealthy people lived in this city, by the looks of the houses.

Finally we arrived in the city centre.

I was fascinated to see the plastic urinals, which accommodated four men, outside the church.   But in fact they were put there in readiness for the half marathon taking place the following weekend.   However the same convenient pissoirs were permanently beside the skate board park yesterday.   Unfortunately for women, it was a matter of holding on!

We ate lunch at an old cafe in the centre of Zwolle.

I loved the narrow streets with well maintained houses.

The town square.

Lots of bicycles parked on the edge of square.   I was a little uncertain as to whether people were allowed to ride bicycles in the centre, and whether cars were allowed in there too.   One had to watch out for both vehicles and bicycles.   One man in a small van had no end of trouble trying to reverse in a narrow space, he nearly hit a few pedestrians and knocked over a sign.

There were definitely no cars on this street.

The buildings surrounding the Broerenkerk,  a 15th century Catholic Church, which became Protestant during the Reformation. 

It was restored in 1983 and was now a huge bookstore, opened around 2007, with heaps of atmosphere.  Fascinating place.

The inside of one wall of the church, with levels for different genres of books. 

We walked back to the main square, to the Grote of St Michaelskerk, which was no longer a Protestant Church, but was still used by different denominations for services. 

A huge building with heaps of character.   It was a Gothic hall Church dating back to 1370-1446.   Another Catholic church which became Protestant during the Reformation. 

Of course there was a Primark, right beside Grote of St Michaelskerk.   I could not help but briefly visit in order to buy a raincoat, just in case. 

The museum de Fundatie, which was situated inside the former Palace of Justice.   Another building, beautifully renovated, which housed a museum.

A view from the top level of the dome.

We viewed some wonderful art exhibitions on the lower floors, Michael Triegel and Charlotte van Pallandt being two of the well known Dutch artists with work exhibited there.

The most fascinating, for me, was the temporary exhibition on the top two floors.    The Europa Zomer Expo19 exhibition.   This year the theme was on artists' impressions of the European Union, an important year due to the elections and the UK withdrawing from the Union.   Well the latter did not happen of course, and there had been an extension until October, 31st. 

Theresa May did not fare so well, as there was a very unflattering small painting of her, looking very grim.   And the painting underneath with May riding a bull.  (Europa en de stier).

And the following one, which said it all. 

After being enlightened by a wonderful museum, we walked back to the train station, via a park.

Sadly we did not visit a very important building, the Our Lady of the Assumption Basilica, which was built between 1463-1481, and housed relics, and images, and a 17th century painting.  The Basilica also had a tower, called the Peperbus, which looked like a pepper shaker.   You will just have to imagine what this tower looked like, or look it up on the internet.   Too late to go back and take a photograph now.

A view of the harbour side of the canal, which was once a busy Hansard port.

Altogether a very interesting city.