The Church Cross and the Storm of 1674
The Intangible Enigma of Utrecht
D. Nalmbantis (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
Everhard Korthals Altes – Mentor (TU Delft - History, Form & Aesthetics)
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Abstract
In Medieval Utrecht, five churches were built to form a Christian cross in plan. After centuries of turmoil, in 1674, a storm with multiple tornadoes passed right through the city, damaging most of the churches badly. During these thirty minutes of extreme weather conditions, the skyline had lost most of its church towers, spires and roofs. Since the city was poor, most of the churches were rebuilt in a simple way. This was completely in contrast to the majestic potential to have all churches at the ends of the cross built monumentally with two towers and needle spires, generating a great symmetry with the tallest tower, the Domtoren, in the middle. This would have made the invisible cross plan to be unmistakable in the skyline. On street level, the Domkerk lost the entire nave, and the Pieterskerk’s front facade, including the two towers, collapsed. The latter created a beautiful opening straight towards the Dom, but after renovations the design of the Pieterskerk didn’t make sense anymore on a larger scale. The storm and the following actions made it impossible for the city to make use of the architectural potential, resulting in the invisible enigma the cross forms in Utrecht today.