Trajectum Lumen: A Utrecht Tale of Light

Last weekend I had an epiphany: if you want to snazz something up, call it by its Latin name. Think about it…which sounds better? I am naturally adept at propagating Taraxacum officinale…or…My yard is full of dandelions. The problem is that calling a box turtle Terrapene ornate doesn’t make him any faster. See what I mean? Let me explain.

When Gwaz told me about the “light show” in Utrecht, I was excited. For one thing, I had never been to Utrecht, and for another, it was a “light show.” Cool, right? Um…the thing is…calling it Trajectum Lumen and printing fancy maps still doesn’t make it a “light show.”

We went, and I’m glad we did for a number of reasons; the least of which was the light show. Trajectum Lumen is actually a walking tour best attempted after dark because, as the name indicates, one finds a number of illuminated locations—all of which provide a lovely walk through this ancient place. Utrecht, the Netherlands’ fourth largest city, is old. Duh…that’s nothing new, but it has one very unique feature—the canals are sunken (so to speak). All along the Oudegracht (old canal) the water is lined with subterranean warehouses built and perfectly situated to facilitate the loading and unloading of canal boats. Today these “sunken” walkways seem perfect for the restaurant terraces that line the canal.

 

Granted city rights in 1122, Utrecht grew from the original Roman settlement named Trajectum ad Rhenum in 50 BC. (Traiectum denotes a location suitable to cross the Rhine River. It became known as the “Dutch Trecht”. The “U” in the modern name comes from the old Dutch word “uut” meaning downriver—so as to differentiate the location from one further north known as “maas-tricht”.)

Since the 8^th century Utrecht has been considered the religious center of the Netherlands. By the 12^th century Utrecht was becoming an important commercial and ecclesiastical center. In the 14^th century, construction began on the massive gothic cathedral (Dom) and it’s remarkable tower at city center; and in 1522 Adriaan Florenszoon Boeyens, born in Utrecht, was elected Pope Adrian VI of the Holy Roman Catholic Church (becoming the last non-Italian pope until John Paul II of Poland 455 years later! He was one of only two popes to retain his baptismal name.) He died in 1523. (It is reported that Adriaan was mocked by the people of Rome, who purportedly rejoiced at the death of such a “barbarian”!)

Until the Golden Age, Utrecht was in many ways the most important Dutch city and remained relevant for several significant reasons. It became home to Utrecht University in 1634 and was the site of the Peace of Utrecht, the treaty that ended the Spanish War of Succession in 1713. The city was revitalized by the introduction of the railroad in 1892 and the merwedekanaal (loosely translated as “new channel”). Today, Utrecht is home to over 300,000 permanent residents; and thanks to one of the largest railroad stations in the Netherlands, an impressive collection of restaurants and hotels, and promotions such as the Trajectum Lumen, Utrecht is a very popular tourist destination as well.