This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.Your walk through Zutphen city guide

Palace of Justice

The tour takes you along the Martinetsingel where you will see the Palace of Justice which was built in 1889. Zutphen has always been an important legal centre. During the Middle Ages the court was held in the open air. Villages and towns from the surrounding area came to Zutphen to ask for justice in the court of appeal. In the period during which the French king reigned over the Netherlands the court of entire region was located in Zutphen.

Names from the Middle Ages

Some streets in Zutphen still retain the names they were given during medieval times. Melatensteeg (Leper alley) is a small alleyway named for the lepers who were made to to live here in small houses outside the city because people were afraid of their disease. They were allowed to beg for food in the centre of the town.

The poorest people lived in small wooden houses in a narrow street called ‘Armenhage’ (Poor people’s Hedge). The tiny houses were built against the city wall.

Agnieten Klooster

During the walk we will enter an old convent where devout women lived during the 14th century. They were followers of Geert Grote (1340-1384), a theologian who had studied at the Sorbonne and who advocated a more ascetic way of life. Some 40 nuns lived in this ‘convent’. It can only be visited in the morning.

Vispoortgracht

The Vispoortgracht is part of the moat which surrounds the town centre. Together with the rivers IJssel and Berkel it encloses the city. During the Middle Ages this was one of the defences against potential enemies such as the French and Spanish armies. Until 1874 the town was also surrounded by big walls. It was only after that date that it was permitted to build outside the city walls.

The Walburg Church

Dedicated to the English Saint Walburga, this is the largest and oldest church in Zutphen. It was built in the 11th. Century, probably on the site of a previous wooden church. Originally a Roman Catholic Church, in 1591 after the reformation it became Protestant. The church can be visited only with specialist church guides.