Utrecht

A city of character

High above the roofs of Utrecht the Dom Tower looks down on the city. Like a compass needle it points out the cultural and cartographic center of the city. Looking out from the 112 meter high tower, you will see the bending canals, the narrow alleys and many unexpected courtyards. All those caverns and curls harbour history, and every corner has a story.

The story of a city
The story of the city Utrecht begins with the Romans building the fort Trajectum around 50 AD on the exact spot that is now the square between the Dom Tower and the church. Around 700 AD the Anglosaxons came to christianize Utrecht. Midway through the 9th century, Vikings threatened the city -and all this before Utrecht existed as a city in 1122. In 1529 the Spaniards ordered to reinforce the city Utrecht with a castle which was given the name Vredenburg. Utrechters who resisted against the Spaniards were put away in this bastion. This was Utrechts first encounter with Spain. Trijn van Leemput gave the first strike to this hated castle which would lead to its collapse. After the Union of Utrecht, in which the Netherlands declared themselves independant of Spain, the Spaniards kept coming back to Utrecht, but now as welcome tourists.

On 30 augustus 1968 a grand collection was organized at the same Vredenburg square. Utrechters collected money for the Czechs who couldn’t return to their own country after the Soviet Unions invasion. Nowadays the Czechs are free again to travel to any place they want and we would love to welcome them back in Utrecht.

Writing in the city
Since the Anglo-Saksen time Utrecht has been an intellectual and literary city. One of the oldest Dutch texts is the Utrecht baptismal commitment from the end of the 8th century. It consists of a dialogue between a priest and an adult who is baptized. The text names three German, pagan gods: Donar, Wodan and Saxnoot. The medieval poet Janus Secundus (1511 – 1536) sought refuge in Utrecht when he had to be treated for anaemia. Since the 70s the Netherlands realized the enormous literary importance of Belle van Zuylen. She was born in Slot Zuylen in 1740 and is commemorated in Utrecht every year with the Belle van Zuylenlezing (Van Zuylen lecture). Her contemporary Hiëronymus van Alphen wrote the famous Dutch children’s verse “Jantje zag eens pruimen hangen” in Utrecht and one can still visit his former home on the Trans (near the Dom) with the wallpaper that inspired him to write about plums as big as eggs. In the nineteenth century the reverent and poet Nicolaas Beets came to Utrecht. By then he had already written his cheeky work Camera Obscura.

Although Utrecht was thought of as a dull provincial town until recently, the cultural climate began to flourish in the years before WWII. Poets and writers such as Hendrik Marsman, Leo Vroman and Anton Koolhaas took residence in the city. Not many of the writers are known outside the Netherlands’ borders, but the Dutch literary climate certainly had a boost in Utrecht. The famous Martinus Nijhoff wrote his poem Awater which consists of 270 lines and takes you from the current Utrecht Central Station to the Spoorwegmuseum (Railway Museum) on Maliebaan. Another important figure was C.C.S. Crone after whom the biennial literary prize Utrecht hands out is named. Dr. Ritter wrote about Crone: “The most simple things in Utrecht life are studied in his art. All those small things, happy and sad, obtained shine and depth when he touched them. There is no writer that made Utrecht so alive as Crone, and there are few writers who wrote prose as delicate as he did.”

The Utrecht Maffia
Mid 90s a group of (now famous) Dutch writers met in Theater Café De Bastaard (Utrecht, Jansveld 17). Tommy Wieringa, Manon Uphoff, Ronald Giphart, Ruben van Gogh and Ingmar Heytze, to name a few. Though there are few stylistic similarities between those authors and they soon took distance from the title Utrecht Maffia, the authors had in common that they like to stand on stage and conquered Dutch literature from Utrecht. Outside this Maffia a literary scene began to take form as well.

Export with a moustache
If you would put all the books of all authors of Utrecht on one side of a scale, and all the copies that have been sold by one other Utrecht author individually, the scale would probably remain in balance. That one other writer is Dick Bruna, creator of Utrecht’s most famous rabbit: Miffy. From near and far fans travel to the Dom City to visit the permanent Miffy-exhibition in the Central Museum.

Literary stages
Though Utrecht is a small city, in terms of population, the number of writers and literary activities is huge. This has several causes: precisely the fact that Utrecht is so small makes it easier for literary interested people to find each other and to start cooperations. The high percentage of students provides an enormous number of book lovers. Located in the center of the Netherlands, Utrecht is an accessible place for events and festivals. Since 28 years Utrecht is enriched with umbrella organization SLAU (Foundation for Literary Activities in Utrecht), responsible for events including the Belle van Zuylen lecture. Salon Saffier focusses on the deceased writers, whilst the Poëziecircus (Poetry Circus) centers on young, vivacious poets. Utrecht has no less than three Poetry Slams and harbors the yearly NK (Dutch Championship) Poetry Slam. The newest literary catch is the guild of city poets, taking over some of the first and only city poet Ingmar Heytze’s tasks. The poet Marsman once proclaimed Utrecht has no style, but character all the more. Slowly but surely a Utrecht movement seems to take form. A literary style that is poetic and narrative, picturesque and ironic.

(Text: Gina van den Berg)