Delft Walking Tour -- by Jay Brentjes, October 2010 - Great wen site ...

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9. Our last stop is the Prinsenhof. It is right across from the Oude Kerk. It looks like an old castle but was originally a cloister, Sint-Agathaklooster. Then in 1572 William of Orange moved here to find better protection during his reign. However, it was also here that he was murdered. William was born in the German town of Dillenburg and at age 11 he inherited the French Principality of Orange and the property of the Netherlands. Later, while living in 'Holland' he became a leader in the battle against the Spanish occupation and fought for freedom of religion. In 1580 the Spanish King Felipe II declared the Prince an outlaw and offered twenty five thousand golden crowns to his murderer. After a number of failed attempts, Balthasar Gerards succeeded. In 1584 he bought two pistols and shot the prince on the stairs near a dining room. His final words in French were: ’Dear God, dear God, have pity on me and this poor nation’. The two bullet holes are still visible in the current museum Het Prinsenhof. His descendants are still the Royal Family, the House of Orange. William the Silent, Prince of Orange, lies buried in the Nieuwe Kerk along with most of those who succeeded him. From here we go back through the gate and turn right. We are heading back along the Oude Delft, the canal where we first started. Along the way notice a few interesting buildings such as Het Gemeenlandshuis, a government office of the Delfland water district, and the smallest house in town. Also look back at the Oude Kerk and notice how it leans. The top is about six feet from vertical. That compares with about twelve feet for the Tower of Pisa. When you see the canal narrow, you are just about at the Barbarasteeg, the little alley that leads you back to the train station.
Trains in the Netherlands A few more words about train travel. If you come from Amsterdam you should try to catch a train as early as possible. You can walk from the cruise ship terminal to the train station in about 15 minutes. It takes about an hour to go to Delft and the price for a roundtrip ticket is 22.20 euros. From Rotterdam it is 15 minutes and 5.60 euros. I have shown some details about going to the Rotterdam station in the walking tour of Rotterdam. Trains run very frequently and are practically always on time. You can buy the tickets from a machine at the station using one and two euro coins or a credit card. However, the card should have the 'chip and pin' feature, not the magnetic strip as we still use in the US. You can buy tickets from the ticket office where they add one euro for the service (the fee is waived for senior citizens). Be sure to note the platform for departures and the direction you want to go. From Amsterdam you head for Haarlem, from Rotterdam take the Den Haag train. For the return trains the directions are Amsterdam and Rotterdam respectively. Here is the web site that may help you http://www.ns.nl/cs/Satellite/travellers
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Page 7: 17th century. Inside the church you

Delft Walking Tour -- by Jay Brentjes, October 2010 - Great wen site ...

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