To be honest, I had never heard of it. How is it possible, because if anyone loves stories it’s me. StoryTrail has apparently been around for 20 years and tells stories all over the Netherlands! So, for a moment I wasn’t paying attention. Many thanks to Henke Lever for the invitation! Initiator and director has built a handsome storytelling empire in the period of my ignorance. We let our agenda decide which city has the most fascinating stories. It becomes Middelburg and, as a result, we get to meet Johannes (the alter ego of storyteller Bart Schouten).
In Middelburg’s market square, we see a group of listeners and a charismatic man in a hat. You can’t miss it, we have found our company for this afternoon. The weather is sunny so Middelburg is showing its best side. After a brief introduction, we walk to the imposing town hall. The closer we get, the more stately it subjects us to its shadow. We look up in awe. Johannes tells us that the graves on the facade were not stuck there at random. On the left are the men related to the “Hollandse Huis” and on the right are the other bloodlines. The most interesting man turns out to be Willem II (1227-1256). Never knew he would be crowned emperor.
Willem II appears to be a Zeeuw at heart and extremely popular. Not only among the people of Zeeland but far beyond its borders. And that popularity led to him being crowned emperor in Rome. It was not to come that far and what an incredible story that brings. Something to do with West-Frisians, 10,000 mercenaries and a frozen lake where the ice turned out not to be thick enough. William was clear about it, if it comes to an end I want to be buried in Zeeland. His son Floris V granted that wish 26 years later by retrieving his father’s body in the Frisian town of Hoogwoud. A venture with which he made a new memorable story to conclude his father’s life. William II is thus buried at the Abbey Square in Middelburg, courtesy of his son.
We walk on through the town and marvel at the beautiful facades that vary endlessly. If only the walls could talk… We arrive at the house of Jacob Cats. He lived at the height of Middelburg’s heyday (1577-1660). As a city lawyer and statesman, he not only had prestige but as a poet he was also hugely popular. Simply born in Brouwershaven, he managed to reach all walks of life with accessible language. His often educational texts earned him the nickname father Cats. Many proverbs we still use today were written by him. You probably know them: Rest, rust. Children are a nuisance, a monkey may wear a gold ring, but it is and remains to be an ugly thing, Best mates are on shore, Home sweet home, Think before you leap. However fast the lie, the truth will catch up with it. And indeed, the Catshuis of our current prime minister in The Hague was once Jacob Cats’ Sorghvliet country house.
Through gates, across bridges, we take shortcuts through narrow alleys we would never have found on our own. In between, we stop for yet another story. This time we are introduced to Messrs Roggeveen. Papa Arent was a cartographer, mathematician, astronomer, geographer, navigator and man of letters. An able man, in other words. And all that skill served his obsession with wanting to find Zuidland. He proclaimed that the earth was not flat and made sea charts for a voyage of discovery. His life proved too short but his son Jacob eventually managed to be sent out by the West India Company for a voyage of discovery at the age of 62. Setting off with his father’s maps, he discovered the Easter Islands on 5 April 1722. Perhaps somewhat superfluous to mention that this was exactly on Easter. Bit of a shame he missed Zuidland but what he did take home with him were, of course, the impressive stories. Johannes shares some unctuous anecdotes with us. Never knew that Middelburg produced an important explorer!
We continue on our way for the last leg of our own exploration. We listen to another story about fake coins and a spectacle maker. And which Middelburger really invented the telescope? Johannes knows how to tell us all about it colourfully. He can even reveal to us why Middelburgers have the nickname “maneblussers”. I won’t reveal exactly how this is but it has to do with a fire that was never extinguished. On the Abdijplein, we say goodbye to Willem II and Johannes. We thank Bart Schouten for his wonderful stories. We now look at Middelburg with different eyes and that’s what makes this StoryTrail so much fun. The walk took about an hour and a half, which makes it very easy to incorporate into a day out in Middelburg. Particularly in spring and autumn, walks are regularly scheduled, see www.storytrail.nl. Book in time because full is full. We are going to have a drink on a terrace because you have to take the review seriously, of course 😉
Love,
Anna