Occasionally I commute between where I live and Zaandam. That means a ride with the option to take the short and straight, but exposed and boring route along the provincial road. Or I can opt for the longer but more sheltered and scenic version.
Usually I take the longer one because the beautiful old houses alongside the winding road make for a far more enjoyable ride. And sometimes I pick out an architectural detail, and focus on that during the ride, just to have a bit of fun while my legs peddle away the miles.
The other day was just such a day. I picked out the sky light (the windows above front doors) and because time was on my side I decided to photograph them for you. It's amazing to see how many variations there are.
First; back in the old days (1600's) these lights had a clear function and that was to shed light into the dark hallway behind the front door. Because they weren't able to make large sheets of glass at that time, these windows were made up by connecting small pieces of glass with the aid of lead strips. Similar to this early example;
As time progressed and fashions changed, these upper windows or fanlights (is that the proper English word?) changed accordingly.
Along the route you can see windows from the opulent Renaissance to the more common trees of life from the 19th Century.
The more you look, the more variations you can spot; from elaborate pictorial carvings to windows with stark graphical rabbets.
I also noticed returning symbols, among were arrows and wondered if they represent a meaning. A search on the net soon made me stumble across this page;
Wow! So much information on such a dedicated subject. Although in Dutch I soon realized this site should be up here, for all who are interested in more background info then I can ever offer.
(If you enter the address in Google translate you can read the site in any language desired)
So let me just finish with a few more pictures of these special windows above the front door. I hope you enjoy them just as much as I do when I pass them along my route.
Those are just beautiful. I loved seeing them. We have nothing like that in the US. Great post. :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you Catherine, glad you like this post. In return I've seen many design features in Maine that are unknown to Northern Europe, and that I loved equally! Isn't it nice we can share ánd enjoy our differences this way?
DeleteUn immense merci pour ces magnifiques photos! Que de belles entrées de maisons!
ReplyDeleteBien à vous, Dominique
Merci beaucoup Dominique! I have to add that not ll doors in Holland are as pretty. The area these pictures were taken is rather old, and has the status of a protected village view. Which means some buildings have a monumental status and all have restrictions resting upon them not to alter the facade.
DeleteThank you so much for sharing, I love old beautiful doors! In Norway there are many boring doors, so I also take pictures of the doors when I'm traveling in Europe.
ReplyDeleteMona
Hi Mona! Seems we share a love for doors :) They can be very inviting sometimes. Or have the look of holding a great promise (what's behind them?)
DeleteOh wow many of these are gorgeous, all are interesting :)
ReplyDeleteHi Linda! Great to hear from you! I'm glad you fancy some of these doors.
DeleteMay I send you my best wishes here too!!!
Prachtig, en zo mooi onderhouden! Iemand zei eens tegen me dat je aan de voordeur kunt zien wat voor mensen er in het huis wonen. Dat belooft wat!
ReplyDeleteGroetjes,
Gee
Hi Gee, ja, mooi onderhouden hé? Sommige van deze huizen helemaal van hout zijn gemaakt, en je moet er toch niet aan denken hoeveel schilderwerk dat om de zoveel jaar geeft :/ Maar mooi gelukkig zijn de meeste in puike conditie! Dit stukje van de Zaanstreek ligt tegenover de Zaanse Schans, aan de andere kant van de rivier. De meeste toeristen bezoeken alleen maar de Schans, met de molens ed. maar misschien is dit stuk van de Westzijde (want zo heet deze straat) nog wel mooier. Alleeen kun je niet naar binnen om ook de rijke interieurs te zien.
DeleteImpresionantes. Gracias por las fotos y el enlace.
ReplyDeleteGracias Isabel. ¡No hay de qué!
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ReplyDeleteBonjour Debora,
ReplyDeletethanks for all these interesting and unique pictures. All these very different doors and windows have their own stories. I have one question: I understood you ride a bicycle. How many kilometers is that ride?
Have a great day,
Patrick
Bonjour Patrick! Funny you ask :) I've got this tiny bike computer, or speed'o'meter, or how you call that in English? It registers speed, time, distance etc. Usually i glance at it, but mostly when I ride a route I hardly take. Out of curiosity, just like you :) This journey I ride so often, it must have been more then a decade since i checked its distance. But luckily we've got Maps, and it said it's just short of ten kilometers.
DeleteJa, wat is de Lagedijk toch mooi he?
ReplyDeleteDank voor de details, ik ga van de week eens met die blik kijken!
Groeten van Paula
Hi Paula, Ja, jij woont hier ook in de buurt! Maar jouw lint dorp is óók prachtig!! Vooral de doorkijkjes tussen de huizen naar het veld vind ik zo mooi. Ik heb er jaren post gelopen en in deze tijd van het jaar is er geen mooiere wijk te bedenken.
DeleteWat voor de Lagedijk geldt, geldt denk ik voor alle andere buurten ook. Soms is het heel verrassend om wat meer naar boven te kijken. Bekende buurtjes blijken er dan heel anders uit te zien :)
Wat een mooie route kan jij maken Debora.
ReplyDeleteGeweldig om dit zo op je blog te kunnen lezen, je zou haast vergeten dat er zulke mooie huizen bestaan in ons landje.
Groetjes Thea
Hi Thea, ik ben inderdaad gezegend, net als iedereen hier in de buurt :) Er is helaas heel veel gesloopt in de vorige eeuw, maar het Zaans culturele erfgoed, om het zo maar even te noemen, is gelukkig redelijk beschermd tegenwoordig. En er zijn een hoop betrokken mensen die nog altijd aandachtig blijven op eventuele bedreigingen. Zo wilde de gemeente vorig jaar nog een vergunning afgeven voor volledig uit de toon vallende apartementsbouw tussen deze aaneenschakeling van historische panden. Gelukkig wist de Historische Vereniging dat te voorkomen en worden er momenteel 3 prachtige vrijstaande woonhuizen voor in de plaats gebouwd. Het blijft dus opletten en ijveren voor waardering voor al dit moois!
DeleteHi Debora! What a wonderful variety of windows! I can see why you would want to ride on the longer road! We don't have as much variety in our "transom" windows over here.... possibly because we were slow to build elegant houses! The "fanlights" are usually only called that on the Georgian houses with the window in an arch over the door... shaped like a fan! The rectangular ones are usually called "transom" lights... possibly from the windows on the ship's transom at the stern of the boat.... which tended to be rectangular. Your windows have much more variety in the ornamental fenestration... I don't think I've ever seen one with the Tree of Life! Very Very Beautiful! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThank you Betsy! Now I know these windows are called transoms! I couldn't help but get a bit annoyed not finding the right word for them :)
DeleteJust discovered your site....lovely, so inspirational. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteKindest regards
Vivian
Hi Vivian! Thank you for dropping by, and your kind words. Cos that's my main reason to blog. To inspire and be inspired in return. Your Fox Manor looks like a great project, and I look forward to see it come to life.
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