Utrecht: separating secular and religious entities

In Roman times Traiectum and its vicus wasn't an important settlement. This changed when the Franks erected a wooden church within the confines of the derelict roman fort around 650 AD. This first church was destroyed by a band of Frisians and subsequently rebuilt. Later -around 700 AD- a second church called Oudmunster (literally Old Minster) was build against the southern wall of the former Roman fort. In 732 the whole of this walled area is bestowed on Willibrord, a Northumbrian missionary saint, as the first bishop. Later large areas of land of the christianized Frisians in the Northern Netherlands were bestowed on the bishop of Utrecht, thus creating het Nedersticht and Oversticht -the two parts of what became the Prince-bishopric of Utrecht from 1024 AD. The two main churches -the church of St Martin (Maartenskerk) and the church of St Salvador (Salvatorkerk) plus a collegiate house and the bishops palace were located within the partially rebuilt Roman walls. On the westside a secular settlement developed called the Stathe (literally staith), located were once the vicus stood.

With the land grew the bishops wealth and with his elevation too archbishop so did his status. The central location was quickly exploited by the bishop and attracted many people. This in turn lead to the building of more churches. The first was the Buurkerk (built 925 AD) dedicated to the Virgin and located north of the Stathe. The churches of St John (Janskerk), St Peter (Pieterskerk), St Pauls church and abbey (Paulusabdij) and church of St Mary followed in 1030, 1039, 1054 and 1085 respectively, creating a cross with the cathedral church or Domkerk at its heart. These Churches were later followed by the churches of St Nicolas (Niklaaskerk - 1155), St Jacob (Jakobskerk - 1173) and St Gerard (Geertekerk - 1231).

The cross of churched reputedly built to commemorate Conrad II can be clearly seen at the centre of Utrecht. Later other churches were added. Two churches in this cross of churches (or Kerkenkruis) are no longer standing.

In order to expand the city that grew around the central religious core the natural landscape of the floodplain had to be extensively altered. These alterations were executed from west to east and included the damming of rivers, the cutting of drainage channels, dredging rivers and digging canals. Each time a new area came available parts of it were quickly filled in. In some parts however urban development had to incorporate older monastic compounds. When the settlement received its city rights  the large Monastery of St Catherine of the Knights Hospitaller of St John (Johanitter Orde) had already been built outside of the Stathe. The new city defences were constructed first on this side to incorporate (most of) the monastic compound. In the 16th century the monks were moved to the site of the Carmelite convent to make way for a large castle. These Carmelite nuns were moved to a new site on the other side of the Nieuwe Gracht (the new canal -1262).

These compounds belonging to monasteries and convents were always encircled by a wall, as within them only church law applied. This system of monastic freedoms (kloostervrijheden or vrijthoven) was widespread throughout the Low Countries, Germany, France and Denmark. The often large compounds greatly influenced the way in which the city developed as secular and religious entities were separated.

The monastic compounds within the city once took up about a third of the space within the city walls. These included the compound of the bishop (1) and the Collegiate Church (1A), Sint Pieter Vrijheid (2) and Paulusabdij (3).The compound of the Buurkerk (4) was small compared to that of the Janskerk (5), which had room to split off a part to accommodate the Friars Minor (6). A similar situation occurred at the Nikolaaskerk (7) where a monastery (7A) was added in 1337, followed by the convent of St Agnes (8 - Agnietenklooster) in 1420 and the new Carmelite convent (9) in 1529 and at the St Servatius Abbey (10) founded in 1222 where later parts were developed to house the Mary Magdalene convent (11) of 1351, Jerusalem House (12) of 1394 and Willibrord House (13) of 1510. The older compounds are located near the old Catherijneconvent (14) of the Knights Hospitaller: 15 - St Clare's convent and St Elisabeth Hospital (1500) on an older part of the former, 16 - Mariakerkvrijthof, 17 - Duitse Huis of the Teutonic Knights (1231) and 18 - the Geertkerkhof with the Bartholomew Hospital (18A) from 1377. Later monastic compounds are located near the cathedral: 19 - Ursula convent (1412), 20 - Regulierenklooster (1267), 21 - the first Karmelietenklooster (1468), Bridget, Monastery Jeruzalem cellenbroeders 25 Geronimo 24, Further afield we find 26 - Convent of Bethlehem (1425), 27 - Wittevrouwenklooster (1240), 28 - Begijnhof (1251), 29 - Dominican (Preachers) Monastery or Predikherenklooster (1232), 30 - Cecilia convent (1396), 31 - Jakobskerk and 32 - Vreedendaal Monastery 1399. Within the city, on parts of older private houses we find almshouses often consisting of single-room dwellings (cameren): 33 - Croontjenspoorthof (1397), 34 -Janskameren (15th C), 35 - Sionskameren (15th C), 36 - Myropscameren (1583), 37 - Kameren van Goch (1560), 38 - Kameren van Campen (1574), 39 - Margaretenhof (1562), 40 - Gronsveltkameren (1652), 41 -Beyerskameren (1597), 42 - Bruntskameren (1621), 43 - Zuylenskameren (16th C), 44 - Kameren Maria van Pallaes (1651) and 45 - Breyerskameren (1749).  

This all changed after the Iconoclastic Wave (Beeldenstorm) of 1566 when Catholicism was made illegal and all "papist property" was seized by the state. The monastic building were reused as schools, orphanages, whorehouses, warehouses, abattoir, stables, military barracks and such. Most however were dismantled creating space for large scale infill and improvements like for instance road widening and new quays. Only the hospitals and almshouses were spared often under the care of "freed nuns". The former enclosed monastic compounds are still recognisable by the street names and reused buildings and building fragments -like for instance gates and cloisters- that were incorporated in later secular buildings.