Tolsteeg Gate

In front of the Tolsteeg Gate, the Bijlhouwer Bridge can be seen, which is an arch bridge whose underpass could be closed at night with two water gates to prevent the uncontrolled entry of goods. This situation continued until 1866, when the gates were removed after the levy of excise on entering the city was abolished. The Tolsteeg Gate had already been demolished in 1842 and replaced by a gate with a guardhouse, the Tolsteeg Barrier.

On the left is a row of houses built on the yard. This is the Wharf of the Twijnstraat. In 1956, the name changed to Twijnstraat on the Wharf. Unlike the wharves of the Lijnmarkt and Donkere Gaard, a strip of the wharf in front of these houses has remained clear. Between the first houses on the left, there is a staircase: this is the Wijde Watersteeg that leads to the higher Twijnstraat. The right half of the drawing shows the Oudegracht Westzijde, with the bricked up wharf wall that formed the boundary of the street. Further on - behind the shed, to the right of the tree - the masonry has already been replaced by an iron counter.

On the right is a remarkably large house with two huge chimneys. This was the residence of Cornelis Anthony van Wachendorff, a lawyer with a great scientific interest. This man had become the owner in 1736 of a tile factory on the land between the Oudegracht and the city wall, which he managed through his marriage. He could afford to have a prestigious residence built on Oudegracht around 1740, a house that also housed an extensive library - the Bibliotheca Wachendorfiana - and a collection of natural historical objects. Van Wachendorff also acquired the brickworks De Liesbosch on the Vaartsche Rijn, which he expanded and embellished into an important Utrecht country estate. After his death in 1757, his possessions were sold by his heirs. In 1848, the house on Oudegracht was purchased by the Diakonessenhuis, making it the first location of this Utrecht hospital.