The black cat

This gable stone picturing a black cat (in old Dutch:  D'SWARTE CAT)  was on one of the monumental buildings at the Korte Assenstraat in Deventer.

A pig on a barrel

Last Saturday we enjoyed taking part in a guided tour through the beautiful and historical city of Deventer. This gable stone on one of the houses at the Assenstraat, picturing a pig on a barrel, was made by Dutch sculptor Anton Geerlings in 1984, so it's actually not that old. The text underneath the barrel ("DAT REGENVERCKEN") refers to the name this building had in former days, because of a deep well that used to be in the back garden.
In old Dutch the word "vercken" means 'large well' or 'large water well', and "regen" is Dutch for 'rain'.

Symbolising marriage

This house in the old city centre of Zwolle originally dates from 1685, as it also says on the front. It is an office building now.

The relief stone picturing a heart and 2 stars is said to symbolise marriage. It originates from a small house at the Hasselterdijk, a dike just outside the city of Zwolle. After this house was demolished, the relief stone was replaced here at the Goudsteeg no.7 in 1982.

Linking to signs, signs.

Gable stones

Two gable stones from Amersfoort: These three rings are from the beer brewery Drie Ringen (Three Rings) in the Drieringensteeg..

.. and D Gulde Vysel ('De Vergulde Vijzel' or 'The Gold-Plated Jack-Screw') can be found on one of the walls of Muurhuizen, and must be relating to long ago handicraft business. The homes at this address (Muurhuizen means literally 'Wall homes') are built on the location of the former city-wall.

Lady in a window

This colourful gable stone on the wall of one of the buildings in the narrow St Jansstraat in Deventer (the alley I showed you yesterday) pictures a lady looking out of a window, and it refers to the presence of prostitution at this location in the past (presumably). I mentioned yesterday that Deventer is one of the oldest cities in our country, however this gable stone is rather 'new' as it was made by sculptor Ton Mooy (1948).

The poetic lines are by J.C. van Schagen (1891-1985), a Dutch poet who died in Deventer. The lines "eens halve kous heet nu St. Jan / maar wat er bleef dat af en an... / wat ik u brom u keert weerom" are really difficult to translate as the first two are hard to understand for me even in Dutch. The bottom line however ("let me tell you, you will return") apparently refers to the fact that the St Jansstraat is a dead-end street.

Holy Cow!

The owner of this shop in Deventer surely knows how to attract the attention of the shopping crowd. I like that gable stone! "Holy Cow!" sells a variety of wannahaves and clothing for all ages.

gable stone with a dog

A gable stone picturing a dog and the year 1669 in Zwolle.

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Een gevelsteen met een hondje en het jaartal 1669 in Zwolle.

The building is located at the Grote Markt.

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Het gebouw staat aan de Grote Markt.

gable stone with a swan

Lopend in Zwolle zag ik deze helder gekleurde gevelsteen op de muur van een Lutherse kerk. Waarom een zwaan?' vroeg ik me af. Dus ik ging op zoek en vond dat de zwaan het symbool is voor Luther en de Lutherse kerk. De steen werd bij de renovatie in 1967 ingemetseld boven de ingang.

When I was in Zwolle I noticed this brightly colored plaque on a Lutheran church. Why a swan? i wondered. So I had a look and found out that a swan symbolises Luther and the Lutheran church. The gable stone was bricked in the wall above the entrance during a renovation in 1967.

Het gebouw staat naast Museum de Fundatie.

The building is located next to Museum de Fundatie.

museum 't Stadhuus

Deze bijzondere gevelsteen in de Voorstraat in Hardenberg trok mijn aandacht. Het zit boven de ingang van museum / Historiekamer Hardenberg. In het streekmuseum vind je informatie over de geschiedenis en cultuur van deze plaats.

This remarkable plaque in the Voorstraat in Hardenberg took my attention. It is placed above the entrance of museum / History Room Hardenberg. Inside you find information about the history and culture of this town.

In dit gebouw was vroeger het stadhuis gevestigd. Ik plaatste al eerder foto's van het nieuwe stadhuis, kijk -hier-.

The city hall used to be in this building. To see the photo's of the new city hall that I posted earlier, see -here-.