The Magical City of Zutphen

 Now why is Zutphen magical?   I am not sure.  It is a beautiful city but there is an aura of magic too.    Perhaps it is the combination of beautiful old buildings, together with little side streets leading to mysterious places, or the clean cobblestones, in many designs.   

Zutphen is situated beside the Berkel and Ijssel Rivers, and is surrounded by green woodland.   It is one of Netherlands' oldest cities.  

Zutphen began about 300 AD as a Germanic settlement, and then became the local centre under the Count of Zutphen.   The Normans raided and ravaged it in 882, which is a fairly normal Viking activity, but they did not settle there.    A fortress was erected to stop any more attacks.   

The settlement received town rights about 1191, and later became part of the Hanseatic League, which was a medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe.  And so the history goes on, through sieges and wars, including being bombed during the WW2.    

After WW2 an extensive renovation program took place.  Now it is one of the best preserved medieval town centres of north western Europe. 

No wonder it is a magical place. 

                                        

I had great fun photographing scenes but had no idea of the significance of many of the buildings or streets!     Plus Wikipedia and the English guide has not helped me at all.

                                                

Stepped gables.   Very Dutch.

Aaron was our leader for the day, and took us around the town, without getting lost.   in the photograph below he is standing, with Walter, in front of 'the business building'.

The church tower at the end of the street.

The town hall.

The registry office.   All marriages must first take place in the registry office, as well as in a church, if the couple which to do so.

The council chamber.

The bell tower of Sint Walburgiskerk, originally built in 1050 AD, but had to be rebuilt a couple of times due to fire damage.

The paving patterns were fascinating.

We visited a beautiful house which is now a museum and art gallery.   The house is behind me, in this photograph as I am looking towards the church tower.

The inside of the entrance gate was covered in shells and stones, in order to make elaborate patterns.

I was given a device so that I could listen to explanations in English.   However I spent most of the time trying to match the device to the signal posts.

My only photograph was the beautiful dolls house.

This gate led to an old nursing home for men.

Another building with a stepped gable.

We stopped here for coffee before driving home.   A beautiful and restful square.

Aaron and Walter enjoying their coffees.   Walter had to accept a weaker coffee, due to the waiter not wanting to give him two shots of coffee.   The rule was 'you can only order what is on the menu'.   

A leaning Amsterdammertje!