Muurhuizen Amersfoort

Houses built on a wall

The Muurhuizen in Amersfoort are unique in the Netherlands. Nowhere else have medieval houses been built so extensively and directly on the remains of an old city wall. What you see is not decoration or reconstruction, but simply inhabited heritage. The wall is the foundation, the cellar, sometimes the rear wall. That gives the buildings along the Bloemendalsestraat and Hellestraat an angularity and irregularity that is hard to photograph badly.

What makes the location photogenic

The variety is considerable. Every house has its own color, facade type, window arrangement and proportion. No two sections of the Muurhuizen look exactly alike. That rhythm of repetition with variation is precisely what makes street photography interesting. You can zoom in on details, isolate a single facade section with a longer focal length, or take in a wider stretch with a 28mm or 35mm to let the context play a role.

Pedestrians and cyclists belong to this streetscape. Wait for someone walking into the right spot, or photograph the street empty in the early morning light. The narrow streets catch the light best around golden hour in the morning on the east side, and later in the day on the west side. Overcast weather works well too: softer light, less harsh shadow on the facades.

Practical

The Muurhuizen are in the center of Amersfoort, within walking distance of the station. The easiest place to park is in one of the parking lots on the edge of the city center. The streets themselves are narrow and busy during the day at weekends. Setting out early is worth it, especially in summer. There is no access arrangement; it is simply public street. Some sections of the wall are accessible via the surrounding parks and squares, which offer different angles and perspectives.

Take the time to walk the entire circuit. The total length of the preserved muurhuizen is a few hundred meters, but there is more than enough to see to fill a morning comfortably.

Sources and further reading

• Gemeente Amersfoort, erfgoed
• Rijksmonumentenregister, Muurhuizen
• Wikipedia, Muurhuizen