Zutphen: Medieval Book City on the IJssel
Zutphen has approximately 36,200 inhabitants and lies on the eastern bank of the IJssel river in Gelderland. The town received city rights in 1190 and developed as a Hanseatic trading centre. The Librije, a chained library from the 16th century housed in the Walburgiskerk, is one of only three surviving chained libraries in Europe and still preserves its original layout with books fixed to reading desks by metal chains.
The Wijnhuistoren, a wine house tower on the Zaadmarkt, and the Drogenapstoren, a medieval city gate, are prominent landmarks. Zutphen's centre contains over 300 rijksmonumenten packed into a compact area, making it one of the best-preserved medieval towns in the eastern Netherlands. The city has been designated a boekenstad, a book city, with several antiquarian bookshops.
Deventer is about 15 kilometres north along the IJssel. Apeldoorn lies roughly 20 kilometres west. The river IJssel, with its floodplain meadows, defines the western edge of the built-up area.
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Zutphen has approximately 36,200 inhabitants and lies on the eastern bank of the IJssel river in Gelderland. The town received city rights in 1190 and developed as a Hanseatic trading centre. The Librije, a chained library from the 16th century housed in the Walburgiskerk, is one of only three surviving chained libraries in Europe and still preserves its original layout with books fixed to reading desks by metal chains.
The Wijnhuistoren, a wine house tower on the Zaadmarkt, and the Drogenapstoren, a medieval city gate, are prominent landmarks. Zutphen's centre contains over 300 rijksmonumenten packed into a compact area, making it one of the best-preserved medieval towns in the eastern Netherlands. The city has been designated a boekenstad, a book city, with several antiquarian bookshops.
Deventer is about 15 kilometres north along the IJssel. Apeldoorn lies roughly 20 kilometres west. The river IJssel, with its floodplain meadows, defines the western edge of the built-up area.
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