Malie Gate
Brigittenstraat
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The Brigittenstraat with the Malie Gate — The Brigittenstraat is named after the Brigitten convent that was located on the south side of the street in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, between the Nieuwegracht and the Nieuwekamp. Dirk van der Burg drew the eastern part of Brigittenstraat, between Nieuwekamp and Lepelenburg. When doing so, he stood about halfway down the street, at number 15.
To the left, on the north side, are two large residential houses whose entrances are reached by stairs. These can still be recognized in the current buildings Brigittenstraat 22 and 24. The wider, somewhat lower facade next to it was later merged into the side facade of the so-called University House on Lepelenburg, originally the residence that the Kol, a family of bankers, had built there around 1850 and is an apartment building nowadays. The main element of the drawing is the Lepelenburg house, which is composed of several parts on a U-shaped floor plan. It is partially hidden behind the garden wall. The main two-story wing stood on Brigittenstraat. In the corner between the other two wings stood a stair tower whose octagonal upper two-story section served as a watchtower.
Groot Lepelenburg had been purchased in 1609 by Master Frederick Brunt, a wealthy Utrecht lawyer. This man earmarked a large part of his fortune for the construction of a number of dwellings for indigent townspeople. Brunt bought the house Klein Lepelenburg, adjacent to his yard for this purpose, which he rebuilt and partly demolished for row of rooms. They were collectively named the Bruntenhof, after him. The Groot Lepelenburg house was demolished in 1800.
On the right is a house with a stepped gable on the south side of the street. This house, now number 17, was also called Klein Lepelenburg for a short time. Brigittenstraat ended at the Malie Gate, the entrance to the Lepelenburg stronghold. The drawing shows the city side of the gate as it looked after the rebuilding of 1664. Above it, the roof of the Stadstimmerhuis is visible. This house stood on the bulwark Lepelenburg, close to the city wall. Lepelenburg was one of five earthen bastions constructed in 1579 on the urgent advice of Stadholder William of Orange to better defend the city. Later on, the Malie Gate became an important passageway for students to reach the Maliebaan, which was built in 1637. The Malie Gate was demolished when the city wall was torn down and the rampart was excavated in 1830.
The drawing also provides information about the paving of the roads. Several lanes for different uses are shown: in the middle a lane of large cobblestones, intended for carts and carriages and on both sides a lane of small bricks, intended for pedestrians. On the outside, against the houses and the garden wall, are the sidewalks. On the sidewalks there are also the outdoor stairs that belong to the adjacent houses.
