Dominant City and Dominant Towers

Now the seemingly strange title of this post has to do with the main attraction of this city. For the final installment of the day trips we took to escape Amsterdam we went to the beautiful city of Utrecht. Utrecht was originally a commanding, Catholic bastion of power in the Spanish Netherlands.

The city's main attraction was the Dom Church and the Dom Tower. They were originally connected by a large nave, but after a powerful storm that became a tornado in 1674, it was completely destroyed. The rubble remained where it was for two hundred years, unable to fund a restoration of a grand Catholic church after the Protestant Reformation and unable to clear the debris. Eventually, the turned the area between the Dom Tower and the remainder of the church into a square, uncreatively called Dom Square. The town is very possibly the oldest settlement in the Netherlands, under the foundations of the Dom Church, also called Domkerk, they found remnants of a Roman fortress, a missionary's church, all built atop one another's ruins. The history of the land beneath the Domkerk was uniquely explored in yet another Dom-named museum named Dom Under. We were shown the archeological dig site beneath the church while being told the history of the city and of the land we stand on. We were given lanterns that were outfitted with an audio tour that used light-activated access points.

While waiting for our tour of the Dom Tower to begin, we entered an did a self-guided tour in the Dom Church. Despite asking for donations, which we were glad to offer, the tour was completely free and I even lit a candle in mourning in one of the oldest, most incredible churches in the Netherlands. We went through the church pretty quickly, but it was interesting to learn that Mozart had once played the Domkerk organ. Finally we left to begin our tour of the Dom Tower. The views were amazing, the height was immense for such an old construction, and the 465 stairs I was forced to climb was probably the most exercise I have had in my lifetime.

But before I show all the pictures I took of the many Dom-themed attractions, I would like to show you the photos of this gorgeous monument to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust I happened to find in front of Utrecht's train museum. It was, what I think was, a granite wall with the names of the victims engraved along with a stature of a shofar, which is a rams horn which is very important in the Jewish religion especially near high holidays.

Without further ado, here's all the pictures of the Domkerk, the Dom Tower, and Dom Under. They should be pretty easy to tell apart from each other, but if you need any help - just ask me.

 These are all views from the top of the Dom Tower.

 Views of Dom Tower from the street.

Now the Pictures of the Dom Church...

Now the pictures from Dom Under.

 And lastly, the rest of the photos taken in Utrecht with little to no context.