In 1987, a remarkable castle keep came to light beneath some demolished houses on the Waalkade. It was an old rondel, a big semi-circular tower that had been part of the city wall. The tower’s function was to protect the Waal bank, the most vulnerable part of the city defences.
Heavy bombardment
The Stratemakerstoren dates from the 14th century and was originally much higher.
However, the introduction of gunpowder and cannons radically changed the means of warfare, and consequently the tower was lowered in the 15th century. Sand was poured between the inner and outer walls – the only way to offer resistance to the increasingly heavy bombardment by the enemy.
At the Veerpoort
The oldest reference to the tower dates from 1526: the ‘rondel at the Veerpoirten’. The Veerpoort was a short distance away, on the site of an age-old landing stage for a ferry that crossed the Waal. The passengers – usually farmers from Lent carrying fresh fruit and vegetables – entered the city via this gate.
Stratenmakers – road construction workers
It is not clear how the tower came by its name. It first appears in the city accounts of 1569. Elsewhere in the country, towers were called after the guilds that were required to man the towers in times of war, but Nijmegen had no road construction workers’ guild. It is more likely that in the 16th century a road construction worker lived near the tower or used it as a place of storage.
Built over
In 1789 the city fathers gave permission for the tower to be built over. Of the three-metre thick outer wall, two metres were cut away and a large building was constructed on the remains. When this building was demolished in the nineteen-eighties, it was revealed just how extensive and interesting the remains were. Unexpectedly, Nijmegen was a fascinating monument richer.
