Answers of the Arnhem Group on the Questions of the Lyon Group

1. Answers of the ArnhemGroup on the Questionsof the Lyon Group

2. 1. Questions as drafted by the Lyon group

3. Is there a district in your town involved in a program of restoration of housing (application of current standards, modernisation of the installations: electrical, plumbing etc.; in-house comfort; external aspect; etc)? • Which entity is responsible for the program? From which authority depends this entity? - which other entities are directly involved (Urban development? Finance? Health? Etc.) - which organisations were set up for the implementation of the program? • Which is the reaction about the results of the operation of : - the people managing the entities involved? - the inhabitants of the district? - the members of your Group? Which improvements have to be introduced in the program in future, in case of restoration of other districts?

4. 2. Structure of the answers

5. The first version of the questions was clearly related to old (family) houses. • The second version gives the impression that the Lyon Group is also interested in the restoration of houses of an earlyer date. • For holiday reasons it was not possible to contact the members of the French Group to ask for the real meaning of the questions. • Therefore, we will pay less attention to houses built during the last 100 years. Much more attention will be paid to houses and other buildings built before the year 1900.

6. 3. Family houses and other buildings at Arnhem: a historical review

7. The history of the city of Arnhem may suggest that this city has street(s) or district(s) with only old restored family houses and other buildings. However, Arnhem does not know such streets or districts, but old restored single buildings can be found. In this chapter the reason for it will be explained.

8. The White Water Mill has been constructed in the 15th century and restored many times. North from Arnhem seven water mills were located. This White Water Mill was the third one and the only remaing water mill. The mill is still in use. The water-wheel is right from the left building.

9. Very short history of Arnhem: Remainders show that as from appr. 2000 bC people have lived in the area north from Arnhem (hunters and later farmers). During the period that the Romans occupied the Netherlands (mostly south of the river of Rhine). In Arnhem the remainders of a Roman “castellum” has been found in 1979. Round 800 the center of ”Arneym” consisted of a church (wood but partly also bricks) with four or five farmer houses (wood). This center was surrounded by some tens of other farmer houses over a distance of some 6 kilometers to the north.

10. One of the oldest still existing mediaeval houses is the “Presickhaefs huis”. The north-south (on the picture: left-right) part is the oldest one. t has been built in the14th century. The stepped gable was built in the 15th/16th century. At this moment the door is the main entrance. Originally it was the back entrance. Up to 1827 this building was the family house of magistrates. It was a coffee-house and restaurant up to 1956, when one started to restore the building. After the restoration the building is serving a cultural purpose.

11. The Count Otto van Gerle gave Arnhem the rights of a free city on 13 July 1233. The citizens got the “freedom of body and goods” and the city its own government, jurisdiction and taxes. At that time most houses were made of wood. The status of a free city gave prosperity to Arnhem, so that the wooden houses have been replaced by brick houses. A small number of these houses and parts of these mediaeval buildings still exist. In 1233 the number of inhabitants of Arnhem was appr. 2000.

12. A soap-boiler, Cornelis van der Hart, gave the order in 1758 to built this house for his family. At Arnhem this building is the most beautiful example of a house built in the Louis XV style rococo). The exterior is rather simple but the interior is exuberant. The house has been restored in 1995 and at this moment it is an annex to the Arnhem Museum. The house is known as the “Citizens Orphanage” as an orphan house had been established in this buiding during the period1844-1920.

13. Although the city of Arnhem has a very interesting history, almost • nothing can be told about the construction of family houses during the • next centuries up to the second half of the 19th century. An exception • must be made for two groups: magistrates and other patricians and • “sugar barons” who became rich in the colonies. • Patricians bought big mediaeval houses with a garden, demolished these buildings and constructed a new house in the style of their time (e.g. rococo) • Sugar barons built big houses in the neighbourhood of Arnhem. These houses were located on allotments of 500 or more ha. Most times the houses were used only during the hunting season

14. In 1742 the “White House” has been bought by Adriana van Bayen, a 19 year old widow of a planter in the East Indies. The last owner died in 1862. The inheritances sold the whole allotment of 880 ha to a private developping company. The city of Arnhem liked to control the development of the city, therefore, the city bought 550 ha in 1899. At this moment this allotment comprises a city park with the White House and the White Water Mill, the Open Air Museum with a lot of old Dutch buildings with a historical value and a number of districts built in the first half of the 20th century.

15. After the occupation by France (Napolėon) the local authorities of Arnhem felt the need to expand the city. However, by law it was strictly forbidden to build houses outside the fortifications. In 1829 King William I gave the permission to demolish these fortifications (successively a thick high brick wall, a broad wall of clay and sand and a broad canal). The demolishment of the fortifications was very rigorous: the very typical houses built against the brick wall disappeared also and there is only one remainder of the fortifications. The south gate, the Sabelstoren still exists.

16. The only remainder of the fortificatiën of Arnhem: the Sabelspoort (16 th century). The gate was not only a part of the fortification but it is also used as family house, tax office, prison and closed house for mad people. The front was changed in 1642 in therenascence style. The gray walls in front of (but also in and behind) the gate object” erected temporaryly on the occasion of an art exhibition during the summer of 2001. is an “art

17. During the19th century the number of inhabitants increased strongly. This means that new shop keepers thought to find business at Arnhem. They built new shops. After having bought one or two mediaeval houses they built a new front in the style of that time. Even at this time many shops in the centre of Arnhem are original mediaevel buildings or have a part of the construction that has been made in the (late) middle ages as the roof construction, outer walls, chimney-stacks etc. Sometimes it is almost impossible to recognize these old elements. During the first quarter of the 20th century one did not rebuild old houses but demolished these buildings fully to construct department stores and other big shops in a style of that time.

18. An example of shop in a middaeval house with a front in the eclectic style (1859). This building has a cellar built during the middle ages with a splendid arches. The side wall has for the greater part a middiaeval origine.

19. After the demolishment of the fortifications new houses were built east and north from the old center. A substantial number of inhabitants of that center moved to the new houses. Their former houses got inhabitants of a new social group, industrial workers. These people had very low earnings; many of them suffered of alcoholism and they had families with 8 to 12 children. They lived in mediaeval houses without any comfort (as e.g. no connection to the sewage system). As they could not pay the rent for the houses, the owners were splitting up the already small houses into two or more units. It is not a real surprise that the districts concerned squandered away.

20. Maarten van Rossum, a general of the army of the count built this house in 1546 in the early Dutch renascence style. It is thought that originally this house has been constructed in the 15th century. The building is better known as “het Duivels Huis” (the Devil House) as in the walls many sculptures of devils have been placed and on the roof a big statue of a devil has been situated. A guess is that these sculptures and the statue have been introduced by Maarten van Rossum to provoke the clergy of the Main Church. The house is a part of the municipal hall of Arnhem. It contains the offices of the burgomaster and his staff, the meeting room of the Council of Burgomaster and Aldermen and (in the cellar) the reception room of that Council.

21. In the year 1901 the Housing Law came in force in the Netherlands. This law gave (and still gives) the minimum standards the family houses have to comply with. In that time (re)constructing houses was a private initiative. It seems that investors in this area had no interest in being active at Arnhem. Only a couple of new districts for the lower social class have been built at Arnhem. The district “Verschurenwijk” is an example of such a (small) new district. Not seldom these new districts were built by charity organisations.

22. These pictures show the housing conditions of industrial workers up to September 1944

23. Although the quality of the middiaeval houses had been improved somewhat these houses were not complying with the Housing Law. Although it was illegal many families have lived in these houses up to September 1944. By war actions all houses and other buildings in the centre of Arnhem have been destroyed fully or damaged severely. The houses meant were not more than ruins and they have been replaced by appartment buildings.

24. 4. Care for monuments in the Netherlands

25. The national trust falls under the responsibility of the central government. Monumentenzorg is the national agency that implements the laws and the derived rules. They decide which object will become a national monument. • Until appr. 1980 national monuments have been mainly - dating from before 1850 - churches, castles, beautiful urban houses (“premises”). • The National Trust Law of 1988 laid down the following amendments: - “new” monuments dating from the period 1850-1940; - churches, family houses in towns and villages; - a (part of a) street or even a district: a “view” can be protected as a national monument.

26. Saint Walburgis Church: the oldest still existing church at Arnhem. This early gothic pseudo basilicum was built between 1391 and 1423. After 1579 the church was withdrawn from the roman catholic use. Than the building was amongst others armoury, arsenal and storage building for alum. In 1804 King Louis Napoléon gave the building back to the roman catholic believers. In the same year one started a very radical restoration. In September 1944 the church was destroyed for the greater part by war actions. Pope Paul VI appointed the church as “Basilica Minor” in 1964.

27. These new acquisitions have been listed per county and then selected in the period 1994-1998. The result is that Arnhem got the most “new monuments” of the county of Gelderland, amongst others two protected views: the districts named the “Mussenberg” and the “Verschurenwijk” and some houses designed by the Arnhem architect Diehl (Art Nouveau and Essentialness). A NATIONAL monument has to meet two criteria: The buildings and the views have to be in their original external (1) and internal (2) state. A LOCAL monument has only to meet one condition: Its exterior has to be in its original state. One of the members of our group is living in such a local monument. He is quite willing to answer questions about it.

28. The Main or Eusebius Church: a late gothic cross basilica built during the period from 1450 to 1540. Shortage of money is the reason of the long building time. Only in 1650 the funds were available to build the tower (renascence style!). The height of the tower is 93 m. After the reformation the church was no longer available for the roman catholic believers. During the first French occupation King Louis XIV gave the chuch back to the roman catholics (1672). However, in 1674 the Eusebius Church was again a protestant church. The tower contains the biggest carillon of Western Europe (53 bells). The biggest bell has a weight of 9100 kg. Also this church has been destroyed for the greater part in September 1944 by war actions.

29. There are no monuments in Arnhem-Zuid (the part of Arnhem situated south of the river of Rhine) because the buildings only date from the thirties up to now. Buildings erected between 1945 and 1965 are now being listed as possible monument, but they are also situated in the nothern part of Arnhem. Private owners of a monument get some financial help: subsidies and tax facilities. They do not fear anymore that their houses are worth less when they become a monument.

30. From a round-about one has a good view on both old churches

31. In our county Gelderland the “Gelders Genootschap”, settled at Arnhem, implements the policy of “Monumentenzorg”. This organisation is is the supervisor, local authority carries out the maintenance but for the private premises. The city of Arnhem has a monument committe. Two art-historians work for the local urban development, but generally Arnhem is not over-active in restoration or conservation of premises; not until 1980 a “Foundation for Municipal Beauty and Restoration” has been set up. Arnhem is more well known as a park city.

32. This building, “de Waag” is situated very close to the former market place. In the Waag the goods were weighted that would be sold at the market up to 1921. At this moment a grand café is situated in this building. It was built in the period 1762-1768 in the Louis XV style.

33. But there is another reason why Arnhem is not famous for a beautiful historic centre: the south east part of the city centre was greatly damaged in September 1944 when the Allied Forces tried to cross the river of Rhine here. The structure of the centre is of course still mainly as in the Middle Ages (the streets plan!), but only separate medieval buildings, no completely medeval streets are still there. But now there is a a new project: some years ago medieval cellars have been (re)found. The city government together with the local shopkeepers and the “Foundation of Municipal Beauty and Restoration” will try to make history of the town more visible by connecting appr. 40 cellars. There will be room for arts, crafts, culture, catering and shopping.

34. The in September 1944 damaged city center

35. 5. Restoration of houses built after 1950

36. The next text is the result of an interview with a town • planning engineer, who has retired as a civil servant at • the Department of Urban Development ar Arnhem this • year: • There are different ways to restore (a part of) a town. A performance of the full work is the best, that means one has to tackle physical and social aspects at the same time

37. When the local authority has decided to start the renovation of either listed premises or a protected urban view, this authority will bring its possibilities into action (money, manpower etc.). Other funding will be looked for. • It will try to involve private persons (e.g. house owners) and if • possible other organisations like the local trade-owners and • shopkeepers. Certainly the local authority will also approach the • neighbourhood council concerned as mouthpiece of the inhabitants. • This means that the local authority will not work from an isolated • position, but will try to mobilise the population.

38. When a house restoration program will be started the city of Arnhem will pay attention to the next items: - Physical structure: public works like recontruction of all underground pipes and cables and the sewer system- - Reconstruction of the public environment: room for cars or not?, green space, safe footpaths, services for elderly people and children, etc. Private house owners must co-operate for example to facelift their house-fronts, to end undesirable use (as prostitution), to take special measures for safety reasons.

39. The initiative for a project can be taken by the city, the Foundation for Urban Beauty and Restoration and/or the neighbourhood council. This council should consist of inhabitants but at this moment representatives of police, housing corporations, soial and cultural workers may be added. • A perspective of the future in the line of recent developments: The neighbourhood council will play a greater role in the future. That will fit into the growing awareness of the citizen: - members of this council get more and more expertise (the monopoly of expertise of the public authorities is disappearing and so, their paternalism is under attack) - the local civil servants will have to defend their planning more (it is easier to go to one institution than to all citizens seperately) - the really difficult citizen will be set aside by the other citizens.

40. The “Verschurenwijk” is a typical example for a district with houses for industrial workers that has been built in the beginning of the 20th century. Recently the houses has been reconstructed. If possible the wishes of the inhabitants have been realised. When the district was built the future inhabitants had no say at all. They had only to show their gratitude that they got a much better house than they had before …...

41. The interviewed person forsees that private initiative and public organisations will work together more and more. • That may end in a shared responsibility of the administration of the • city and likeequal partners: private/public - administration. • The negative side will be the continuous struggle about (the shortage • of) money and the civil laws do not know this corporation yet.

42. Project Arnhem 2015: • The local authorities started a for Arnhem specific program in • 1997. This program must be finished in 2015. • Amongst others it involves: • a better quality of life in our city • a growing economy with responsibility for the environment and sustainability • a city pleasant to live in, using the space for living and working • an inviting city with a lot of activity, sports, culture and nature around.

43. One of the most urgent social problems in the Netherlands after the second world war was the house famine. • In spite of this house famine many premises that did not comply with the standards of the Housing Law were condemned as family houses. • Round 1950 the Dutch government started a very ambitious program to give each family a house complying with the actual standards. (Please, see also our answers to the questions of the Granada Group)

44. A typical appartment building built during the fifties of last century: poor design, only four floors (this means no elevator) and the comfort of the interior is the minimum of the law.

45. The central government provided the funds for the building program. • Housing Corporations were responsible for the realisation of that program. They had to comply with very strict rules (acceptable quality against low costs) • The corporations collected the rent-money and these organisations took care of the maintenance of the houses. • The difference of the rent-money and the maintenance costs (this difference must be positive) was made available to the central government and became a part of the building budget of the next year. In this framework no attention has been paid to other building activities e.g on behalf of investors as pension funds and (groups of) future owners.

46. A street in a renovated district: new low houses (front), old low houses (midlle) and an old appartment building (behind). The exterior but in particular the interior of the old buildings have been improved.

47. Appr. 10 years ago the housing corporations became independent • organisations. That means that the housing corporations • are the owners of the houses they built; • can keep their profits if they have good plans to spend that money; • are selling a small part of the houses to the inhabitants; • are developping new activities in the construction area, as 40-50 years old houses are replaced by more comfortable houses or the exterior and interior of these old houses are completely renovated; • are even building care houses for elderly people, which have a much better quality than care houses built under the old regime.

48. The housing corporation that renovated the Arnhem district “De Groene Kamer” also built a care house for elderly people in this district. The left picture does not only the backside of this care house but also that it is situated in the midlle of the district, The right picture shows the front side of the building.

49. As mentioned before a renovation/restoration project the housing corporation will approach the local authorities so that these authorities will improve the infrastructure of the district concerned. A third party in the discussion has been formed by inhabitants, police, social workers etc. If possible the wishes of this group will be realised.

50. The authors of this document are: Ineke Mentink Rein Mulder Kees van der Lee If the source of a picture has not been mentioned, the illustrations have been made by members of the Arnhem Group. The picture of page 34 has been obtained from the Municipal Archives of Arnhem. The picture of page 19 has been copied from Ach Lieve Tijd, 750 jaar Arnhem, Ed.: De Gelderse Boekhandel-Uitgeverij Waanders (1983) and these of page 22 from Arnhem, Groene Stad aan de Rijn, Ed.: Gemeentebestuur Arnhem (1983) Some pictures dot not support the text of the chapter where they have been placed only but also that of an other chapter. Arnhem, September 2001