Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Willemstad

The Koepelkerk (Domed Church) is the first church in the Netherlands specially built for Protestant worship and therefore the building became a model for many later Protestant churches. Construction began in 1597 and took ten years. Prince Maurits van Oranje supported the construction of the church with 7000 florins, on condition that it would be built either ound or octagonal shape. The church was built without of chapels and side aisles; not the altar, but the pulpit had to be the centre point. The Koepelkerk was heavily damaged in World War II )November 1944), during artillery shellings of the Allies. Willemstad has rebuilt and restored the church over the years. The church is now used by the PKN Reformed Church and is a national monument.

D’Orangemolen (d'Orange Mill) is a round brick smock mill. The flour mill was built in 1734 by order of the Nassause Domeinraad for 8.000 florins. The mill was owned by the Princes of Orange. Prins Maurits leased the mill to the miller who offered the most. It was called the ‘compulsive mill’ because all local farmers were obliged to use d'Orangemolen for grinding their grain. The mill was restored in 1999 and the wings were also reinstalled. In 2004 the mill was in operation again after 40 or 50 years. Nowadays the mill is privately owned and used as a home Willem van Oranje (William of Orange) gave his name to the town of Willemstad. Yet the town does not owe its existence to him but to the marquis of Bergen op Zoom, Jan IV of Glymes. He ordered that some salt marshes should be drained and surrounded by dykes. That’s were the village of Ruygenhil came into being in 1565. In 1582 the Province of Brabant gave the village to prins Willem van Oranje in compensation for what he had spent and lost in the “cause of freedom”. After his dead in 1584 his son Prince Maurits named the town Willemstad (William’s Town), as we call it in Dutch.