Deventer Holland - a city for connoisseurs

Deventer Holland - a city for connoisseurs

The city of Deventer in Holland was a Hanseatic city. It is located on the IJssel, on which the merchants set out to visit the Hanse trading cities. They brought wealth to the city. You can see this in her to this day. Wealthy merchants built trading houses in the city center. They lived there and stored the goods they brought back from their shopping trips. But the city also makes a magnificent impression from the outside. We spend the night on the other side of the river IJssel Hotel Sandton *. From there we can admire the cityscape from our room.

 

 

 

Breakfast with a view of Deventer Holland

Overlooking the IJssel and the Deventer skyline, we enjoy our morning breakfast as we like it. We get some fruit and bread from the buffet. Eggs on request, yoghurt and cereal, orange juice and coffee are served. That's how we start our last day in the Hanseatic cities. While munching on great food we watch the small ferry that connects the two banks of the IJssel. It departs just a few meters from our hotel. The ferryman is obviously a master at his job. He has to give right of way to big container ships, which pass us en route to inland destinations on the river. This lively river traffic lends the city a maritime flair.

 

 

A stroll through Deventer in Holland

After breakfast we meet with Patrick and Krijna von Hanzetour. The two accompany us with their bicycles in the city. You can rent your bicycles in the hanseatic cities of Holland in the near future for cycling tours. Today we leave our car and go by ferry, the pontje , to the old town of Deventer. We can go there and back for € 1,70 (as of August 2021). It is only a few steps from the landing stage and we are in the middle of the historical part of the city. Our route takes us past the Lebuinuskerk, a Gothic building that is impressive in its size alone. However, we do not have the time for a tour, as we have arranged to meet with the tour guide Jan with our city guide.

Bike tours in the area of ​​Deventer are there many.

 

 

What does Albert Schweitzer have to do with Deventer in Holland?

The statue of Albert Schweitzer in the market square is a reminder of the visits of the doctor in the Dutch city. Deventer had set up a fund to support his hospital in Lambarene, Gabon. For this reason, Schweitzer visited the city several times. He was a good organist and gave several organ concerts in the Lebuinuskerk to raise money for his hospital.

 

 

Deventer even has a "mountain"

For us Bavaria, the term "mountain" for the Bergkwartier in Deventer may be a little exaggerated. Because we don't go uphill on our walk through the district. I wouldn't even call it a hill. However, if you compare it with the otherwise flat surrounding area, the Bergkwartier protrudes beyond it. There is even a mountain church. The St. Nicholas Church stands at the end of the Bergstraat on the Bergkerkplein.

 

 

The Bergkwartier of Deventer

On the way there we pass houses, that stand out because of their appearance. Magnificent entrance doors, brick buildings with historic freight lifts, window decorations, which depict what is going on behind the façade and pretty plant decorations turn a stroll through the Menstraat and Bergstraat into a feast for the eyes. Jan tells us, that was not always the case. Many of these houses were to be demolished. However, protests from the population prevented this. What luck! Because the Bergkwartier today is the attractive figurehead of Deventer.

 

 

The Charles Dickens Festival in Deventer in Holland

The Charles Dickens Festival takes place in the Bergkwartier of Deventer Holland in mid-December. More than 950 figures from the works of Charles Dickens then animate the Bergkwartier. Scrooge, Oliver Twist, orphans, drunks, the poor and the rich turn the historic streets into an English city of the 19th century. The festival is very popular. Therefore, when visiting, you have to expect a long waiting time before you get access to the Bergkwartier. We can well imagine how impressive the backdrop of the Bergkwartier must be for this festival.

 

 

A "Hanseatic" Lunch

In the Proeflokaal 'tOer in Deventer Holland, food is served as it was in the days of the Hanseatic League - with a touch of modernity. I like the interior of this restaurant. Drinks are served at a long bar. You eat at rustic wooden tables. The exposed brick walls of the historic building help us feel transported back in time. We feel comfortable in this restaurant.

Fish and meat - the main dishes of the Hanseatic League

For lunch, we order a plate with appetizers, which shows us, what people ate at the time of the Hanseatic League. There is a lot of meat and seafood. I discover meatballs in gravy, roasted pork belly and meat skewers. In a bowl is a kind of shrimp cocktail on salad. The sausage salad comes with small sandwiches filled with tomatoes. Two glasses contain soup. Meatloaf is served in a roll. Whether the Hanse merchants really ate all these dishes, I do not know. Tomatoes certainly did not exist in Europe before the last decades of the Hanseatic era. The selection on our tasting plate, however, is extensive and good.

 

 

 

In the Museum De Waag

Freshly strengthened, we are ready to take a closer look at the history of the Hanseatic League in the Museum de Waag. The museum in Deventer Holland itself dates from that time. It originally served as a scale and calibration inspection for the goods that merchants brought across the IJssel to the markets in Deventer. From 1386 there were five annual fairs in the city. So that the merchants traded fairly with one another, inspectors checked the dimensions and contents of the goods. This was the only way to guarantee fair trade. This was a profitable business for the city, making money on every ounce that was put on the market.

Things worth knowing about the Hanseatic League

Today, the Museum de Waag deals with the history of the city. This offers changing exhibitions and an exhibition about the Hanseatic period. On a map we see the trading area of ​​the Hanseatic League. This extended from the Dutch and German Hanseatic cities up to Bergen in Norway, Birka in Sweden and the eastern regions of the Baltic Sea. A trade association that offered secure trade relations. In showcases we can see which goods the merchant ships transported. A model of a cog shows how stable these merchant ships were. They weren't big. But they distributed goods over a large trading floor. Cities along the North and Baltic Seas owe their wealth to the merchants of the Hanseatic League.

 

 

Honey cake as in the Middle Ages

After so much history we deserve a break. At the market square of Deventer Holland is the Koekwinkel. There is a cake specialty here that the Hanse merchants already knew: honey cake. The Deventer honey cake was even protected by the guild. Nobody outside the city was allowed to bake it in the Middle Ages. You know the ingredients: honey, rye flour, water and spices. The secret, however, lay in the spice mix. Not even the baker knew what spices were in it. I can't say if that's still the case today. In any case, the honey cake tastes like Christmas. He will come with butter coated and tastes very spicy.

From our table in the café, we watch as the queue in the shop grows longer and longer. Apparently we are not the only ones, who like this cake. In the Deventer Koekwinkel, many people stock up their cake supplies.

 

 

What happens in the market square of Deventer?

While we drink our coffee, we notice that more and more young people gather in the marketplace. They come from all corners and side streets. It looks like an event is taking place. However, we had not seen any announcements. And indeed! Suddenly all teenagers start to dance and sing. We are witnessing a flash mob in the center of Deventer! In good spirits, the millenials move to the Wilhelmina fountain and immediately put us in a good mood. We forget the shopping spree through Deventer, we had planned and rather listen to the young people celebrating summer. That is pure joy of life!

What a delicious end to a great trip through the Hanseatic cities in Holland! Thank you for that.

 

 

---

Travel Arrangements

Parking at the airport

Here you can reserve your parking space at the airport.

How to get there

Book yours here Arrival by plane, bus or train*. KLM and Lufthansa will follow Amsterdam. It's best to take a car from there, because that's the only way you'll be flexible enough to get to know the localities in the region better.

Rental car

Cheap rental cars and e-cars - book quickly and easily here

Accomodation

Book your accommodation here *

Camping

There are a number of campsites around Deventer Holland. A beautifully located campsite in Deventer is Stadscamping Deventer in Worp 12, 7419 AD Deventer. What you need for motorhome trips, you can find here.

---

 

Do you already know:

• Beautiful cities in Holland
• Harderwijk things to do
• Elburg Holland
• Hasselt Netherlands
• Kampen in the Netherlands
• Texel
• Keukenhof
• Easter holidays
• Netherlands travel destinations
• Holland landmarks
• Hanseatic city of Stendal - a city in the Altmark
• Art close up in Tofino on Vancouver Island
• Motorhome packing list - what you shouldn't forget

Source for Deventer Holland: On-site research. We would like to thank Das Andere Holland for supporting this trip. However, our opinion remains our own.

Text DeventerHolland: © Copyright Monika Fuchs, TravelWorldOnline
Photos Deventer Holland © Copyright Monika Fuchs, TravelWorldOnline