Clouds, Church, Thorn, Limburg, The Netherlands by Maarten Kost

About "Clouds, Church, Thorn, Limburg, The Netherlands"

by Maarten Kost

About the artwork

Thorn is a city in the Dutch province of Limburg. It lies at the Belgian Kessenich. It also has neighboring villages Ittervoort, Panheel and Wessem.
Until the mining in the tenth century, the area around Thorn was very swampy. At the edge of this swamp, the Roman road ran from Maastricht to Nijmegen. Around 990, at an altitude close to the Meuse, Count Ansfried, who was married to Hereswint (Hildewaris), founded a monery, a monery for Benedictines, the Abbey of Thorn. That monery grew into a secular pen noble ladies) and a principality, the Abbey Principality of Thorn. The Land of Thorn included Thorn, Ittervoort, Haler, Grathem, Stramproy, Baexem and Ell. Many homes of these Stiftdames have been preserved, such as the House with the three bullets from 1648.

In 1007, Thorn obtained market and toll rights. City rights were granted in the 13th century. The town was partially surrounded. Within the enclosure was a walled area, the immunity, which belonged to the abbey. There was also a bourgeois center and agriculture was conducted in the north.

In 1645 a city fire took place in which many houses were lost.

Thorn suffered greatly among the French. Then Thorn also got its distinctive white color. After the noble ladies fled in 1794, the French introduced a tax based on the size of the windows. The poor population, often living in large buildings that had previously belonged to rich people, could not afford it. To limit the amount of the tax assessment, the wind