Amersfoort – Joan Blaeu, 1649

PLAN OF THE CITY OF AMERSFOORT

“Amisfurtum”, copper engraving published in Amsterdam in 1649 by Joan Blaeu as part of his Toneel der Steden van de Vereenighde Nederlanden [Theatre of the Cities of the United Netherlands]. Coloured by a later hand. Verso Latin text. Size 42 x 52 cm.

In the seventeenth century, Amersfoort was, alongside Utrecht, the only other major city in the province. The town originated from a manor of the Bishop of Utrecht on the river Eem, from which the surrounding reclamation works could be supervised. On this plan, one can clearly see both the old and new canal rings of the city. The first ring, dating from the late thirteenth century, is almost circular and encloses the city’s two main churches: in the centre, the Church of St. George (Sint-Joriskerk), and in the west, the Church of Our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk) with its tall tower. The tower still stands today, but the church itself was destroyed in the eighteenth century by an explosion.

The city experienced a period of great economic prosperity and population growth. Less than a century after the construction of the first city wall, a new line of fortifications was built concentrically around the old one. This new defensive ring consisted of walls with towers, gates, and a double moat. Construction began in 1380 and continued—mainly due to high costs—until 1450. In the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, this outer defensive belt was further strengthened with several bastions.

Amersfoort—or more precisely, the Tower of Our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwetoren)—is regarded as the geographical centre of the Netherlands. Until 1960, the tower served as the origin point of the national triangulation system (Rijksdriehoeksnet), effectively making it the coordinate centre of the country.

The title cartouche, executed in auricular style (kwabstijl), bears only the Latin name of the city. The empty space below was evidently intended for additional text. Two putti holding the coats of arms of Utrecht and Amersfoort crown the cartouche. On either side appear allegorical references to agriculture and livestock breeding.

The Amsterdam cartographer and publisher Joan Blaeu sought to fulfill the ambitions of earlier mapmakers Abraham Ortelius and Georg Braun & Frans Hogenberg by adding a series of city books to his multi-volume world atlas.

Blaeu’s Toneel der Steden van de Vereenighde Nederlanden appeared in a Latin edition in 1649; the Dutch edition was printed in 1652. Some of the maps included in the work had already been published in earlier atlases—21, for instance, in Marcus Boxhorn’s Theatrum Hollandiae of 1632—while others were newly engraved specifically for Blaeu’s town book.

It is known that Blaeu sent letters to city councils requesting that they provide him with a city plan and a written description to include in his work.

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