Doelenpoort Leiden by Leanne lovink

About "Doelenpoort Leiden"

by Leanne lovink

About the artwork

The Doelenpoort Leiden The gate stands at the northern beginning of the Sebastiaansdoelen, a street located parallel to the Doelengracht, at the junction with the Groenhazengracht. The gate gives access to the site where the Doelenkazerne building complex stood from 1818 to 1980. This is now home to housing, the LAKtheater and buildings of the Faculty of Humanities of Leiden University (part of the Witte Singel-Doelen complex) The gate dates from 1645 and gave access to the Doelen, the training ground of the Leiden Militia. The gate was designed by the city architect Arent van 's-Gravesande, who also designed the Marekerk, the Lakenhal and the Bibliotheca Thysiana in Leiden. The painted sandstone gate has Doric semi-columns and is decorated with arms and war attributes. The carving, depicting St George with the dragon, is by Hague sculptor Pieter Adriaensz. ?t Hooft (1610-1650). The carving on the gate refers to one of Leiden's two archers' guilds: the St George's Guild, which was given this area when the city expanded in 1386. In 1477, the other marksmen's guild - the St Sebastiaang Guild - also started practising here. Both archers' guilds were merged a few years after the Leids Ontzet (Liberation of Leiden), which also gave them access to muskets instead of the hand and foot bows they had been equipped with until then. The archers' guilds were disbanded in 1798 during the