Exhibition on Utrecht’s Dom Tower
Utrecht’s Dom tower, perhaps the city’s most important landmark. The Gothic cathedral was built from 1254 onwards as the cathedral of the diocese of Utrecht. A devastating hurricane on 1 August 1674 caused the nave to collapse. The cathedral’s colossal 14th-century tower remained standing and is Utrecht’s most prominent landmark.
It was carefully restored between 2017 and 2024.
The Dom tower – the tower of the cathedral – is already the superstar among Utrecht’s landmarks. Now is is also the subject of a special exhibition at the city’s Centraal Museum. From 25 June 2016 to 2 October 2016, many facts about the Netherlands’ tallest church tower will be vividly presented here. The content of the exhibition is the result of a collaboration between museum curator of urban history Renger de Bruin and René de Kam, coordinator of public outreach of heritage in Utrecht and author of the book ‘De Utrechtse Domtoren. Trots van de stad’ (‘The Tower of the Utrecht Cathedral. Pride of the city’,) a book that is as comprehensive as it is recommendable and was published in 2014.
Both book and exhibition tell the story of this unique tower and a special piece of city history. During the construction of the Gothic cathedral in the Middle Ages (from 1321 to 1382), it was decided that the cathedral should have a tower. And the tallest in the entire diocese of Utrecht at that. Its construction was largely financed by the sale of indulgences. This practice had to face considerable criticism during the Reformation under Martin Luther and colleagues, and so this flow of money dwindled. As a result, the nave of the church would never really be finished.
But already before, the plan to build such a high church tower was attacked by Geert Grote. This founder of a spiritual movement called the Modern Devotion lived during the construction of the Dom tower. He thought the intention was all undue vanity and pride and the structure itself a veritable Tower of Babel. According to him, the only use of a church tower was to house bells. And for that, the 112 metres the Cathedral Tower eventually became tall were not needed.
Fascinating objects from the long history of Utrecht’s CathedralTower
Painting of 1824 by Bruno van Straten showing a view of Utrecht’s so called German House (het Duitse Huis) and Dom tower (the cathedral’s tower).
The exhibition showcases many unique objects from the long history of the Dom Tower. Unlike the nave – which was blown over during a terrible hurricane in 1674 – the tower still stands and is a recognisable landmark for residents and visitors to Utrecht just as it was centuries ago. A whole series of paintings show that its condition and shape were always gladly immortalised on paper or canvas. Also on display are fascinating objects that have come to light during excavations or in archives or museums and which are in direct relation to the history of Utrecht’s Dom Tower.
What is sadly missing is a mention of the Dom candle, which has been the signature souvenir from Utrecht in recent decades (or should we have overlooked it?). Then again, in the workshop at the back of the exhibition, the Centraal Museum offers visitors the opportunity to build their own cathedral tower, using a 3D printer. That has its difficulties but is still a lot easier than all the trouble that medieval master builders and masons and later restorers had to go through.
And while you are curious about Utrecht’s Dom Tower and its story anyway – what could be more obvious than also to book an interesting guided city walk in Utrecht? Look here for more. .
July 2016
Utrecht, tower of the cathedral (the ‘Dom Tower’) seen from the churchyard of the Buurkerk, (the ‘Buurkerkhof’)
