Our July 2009 Vist to the Netherlands
Larry, Stephanie, Steven and Anna Vredenburgh

Vredenburg Castle, Utrecht, Netherlands

On July 7, we ventured via rail from Amsterdam to Utrecht, Netherlands to see the Vredenburg Music Hall constructed on the site of the Vredenburg castle. (Check out this Wikipedia article for more information on the castle.) I knew from the internet that the Vredenburg Music Hall was under renovation, so I was a bit disappointed, but prepared for what we found.

I found several interesting links on the Vredenburg Castle.

http://www.sand-factory.com/gallerie/projecten/en2008vredenburg.php
http://www.buro1896.nl/domdigitaal/educatief/trijn.htm
http://www.utrecht.nl/smartsite.dws?id=90404

I would recommend that you copy these coordinates 52° 5′ 33″ N, 5° 6′ 50″ E coordinates into Google Earth... it will take you right there.

The Hague (Den Haag) Netherlands.

After finding the Vredenburg Music Center snapping a couple of photos (and recording GPS coordinates) we ate lunch jumped on a train and headed to The Hague.

According to Kenneth Scott, in his 1964 article "The Vredenburg Family" which appeared on page 79 of New York Genealogical and Biographical Record vol 95, No. 2, Ysack Willemss Van Vredenburch, married Cornelia Jans, in the Groote Kerk in the Hague on August 6, 1634. A few years later, on January 1, 1637, their son Willem was baptized in the Kloosterkerk in the Hague. Willem is the ancestor of the Van Vredenburgs in America. He arrived in New Amsterdam on the Gilded Beaver in May, 1658.

So we set out to find the Groote Kerk (Great Church) and the Kloosterkerk (Cloister Church) in the Hague. After another train ride and a half hour walk we arrived at the Groote Kerk in the Hague, where my 9th great grand parents were married on August 6, 1634. After briefly poking our head inside and talking with a docent (we arrived at 4 p.m., and it closed at 4 p.m.) we headed around the corner to the Kloosterkerk.

This church was also closed. But again I left with photos, and GPS coordinates.

Again, here are some websites for further information:

The Groote Kerk (also known as Church of St. James or Grote of St-Jacobskerk):
Location of the Groote Kerk: 52° 4' 38.768043" N, 4° 18' 25.06496" E

The Great Church at The Hague

http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grote_of_Sint-Jacobskerk_(Den_Haag)

http://www.grotekerkdenhaag.nl/index.cfm/grote-kerk-den-haag/index.cfm

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=beddbf8c283780c5a1f733dfdf03def

The Kloosterkerk
Location of the Kloosterkerk: 52° 4'54.95"N, 4°18'34.05"E

Kloosterkerk

http://www.kloosterkerk.nl/?page=monument-en

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kloosterkerk,_The_Hague