A short tribute to an icon of Utrecht

Erwin Hartenberg
May 3
1 min read

I moved to Utrecht about a year ago. I am slowly getting to know the city, but one thing was clear from day one; the Dom is the icon of Utrecht. Standing at 112 meter tall, you can see it from pretty much anywhere in the city. Looking at the Dom tower you immediately notice something is different, like there is a part missing. And this is indeed the case. It was once the Netherlands' largest church, but the nave collapsed in a storm in 1674 and has never been rebuilt, leaving the tower isolated from the east end. This makes it stand out even more. Other than being tremendously helpful to find my way around the city, it truly does stand out. The older buildings in Utrecht center are not as high and big as along the canals in Amsterdam and this creates even more contrast with the high-rising Dom tower.

The tower is everywhere as a symbol of the city. Cakes, keychains, bags, t-shirts, mugs, and so on, all show this icon.