Wilhelmina

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, in Dutch. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

Description

Introduction

BARRACK BUILDING 'WILHELMINA' formerly addressed Vaart ZZ 153;155;157. The first building erected on the site of the Johan Willem Friso Barracks (the former 'Klapkampen' between the Witterstraat and the Vaart ZZ) is the barrack building 'WILHELMINA' dating from 1893, constructed in neo-renaissance style. In 1895 (1894 according to the datestone) the virtually identically designed 'Emma' rose to its right. The smaller 'Hendrik' was built in the same style and with the same detailing in 1905 (1904 according to the datestone). Since the 'Wilhelmina' and the 'Emma' are approximately the same size and virtually identically designed, a single description suffices for both.

Description.

The 'WILHELMINA' and the 'Emma' are constructed from a rectangular, elongated floor plan, each with four transverse wings perpendicular to the main buildings on the rear. The buildings are provided with a storey underneath and are covered with truncated gabled roofs with bullet tiles. The long, 53-bay front facades with ashlar plinth are richly provided with facade accents in natural stone and red facing brick and are articulated by pilasters. The windows on the ground floor are provided with ashlar sills and are arched, as are the fanlights of the non-original doors on this storey (except those of the main entrance). The window openings on the upper storey are straight-headed and provided with sandstone sills. The windows and doors on the ground floor stand under segmental arches, those of the upper storey under stretches, all with quoins and keystones of Bentheimer sandstone. The symmetrical left building section is constructed in red facing brick and provided with pilasters, which are rusticated on the ground floor. The three-bay wide central section with spout gable and transverse roof has a sandstone cordon moulding. The top is provided with ascending segmental arch friezes, sandstone drip mouldings and a tenant in the spout, which is crowned by a curved pediment. The attic window is a twin window with round-arch transoms under a horizontal elliptical spanning arch. The pilasters (with cornice) on either side of the central section are crowned by sculptured shield-bearing lions, which also appear on the shoulders of the other gable tops. The two-bay wide gable sections to the left and right of the spout gable have a brick attic with round-arch frieze. On the corner pilasters stand square corner turrets with projecting crenellations of Bentheimer sandstone and an infill of brick mosaics in the round-arch spandrels. The facade of the seventeen-bay wide brick building section to the right of the previous is slightly recessed with in the centre a higher rising, narrow spout gable with transverse roof and an entrance under a balcony with round-arch balustrade and ashlar consoles. A porte brisée opens onto the balcony. Between the pilasters (like those of the left building section) stand two or three windows per storey. The attic storey is provided with a round-arch window, the toothed edge of the gable top has profiled sandstone drip mouldings and the spout is covered with curved pediments. The two-bay wide gable sections on either side of the spout gable are provided with an attic like that of the left building section, the three-bay wide gable sections to the left and right of those are enlivened by diamond heads in recessed fields of red facing brick. The pilasters on either side of the five-bay wide central section are higher rising with a cushion-shaped coping. The symmetrical central section of the facade is again of red facing brick and in broad terms comparable with the left gable section. The central section thereof has an entrance with new door within a recessed surround of red sandstone. The ashlar balcony is supported by pilasters and consoles of the same stone type. A broad, straight-headed window opening with porte brisée opens onto the balcony. This stands under a cornice and a round arch with in the arch soffit a sandstone relief with the coat of arms of the Netherlands and the inscription 'Wilhelmina kazerne'. The surround around the doors and the relief is a profiled arch standing on fluted pilasters with keystone. The gable top is somewhat comparable with the top of the left gable section, but has pediments on all four spout sides with the year 1893 mentioned in the front one. The circular window opening in the centre of the gable top originally contained a clock. Crossing the roof and passing through it run fire walls with wrought-iron weather vanes on the spouts. The gable sections to the right of the centre are the mirrored versions of the gable sections to the left thereof, with the difference that the right gable section on either side of the top gable counts only one instead of two bays. The right end gable is symmetrical with two windows per storey and in the centre a high rising, probably added blind projection with straight termination. The windows in the rear facade are arched under facing brick string courses on the ground floor and straight-headed under likewise facing brick stretches on the upper storey. On the upper storey there are also some cast-iron louvred windows. The profiled cast-iron gutters are supported on wrought-iron brackets. The rear facade has an outbuilding between the two right of the four transverse wings. The four single-storey wings under gabled roof are provided with transom windows, straight-headed windows with ashlar sills under facing brick stretches and rectangular, cast-iron ventilation grilles under the cast-iron gutters, supported on brackets. The symmetrical end gables have projecting roof lines with hanging struts and are moreover provided with a louvred window in the outer wings. Each end gable is provided with a straight-headed entrance with ashlar step in a spandrel with basket arch and on either side a spandrel with facing brick segmental arch. The long facades are articulated by means of pilasters with ashlar head, between which six- and nine-pane windows are placed. Between the second and the third wing, which lie further apart than the others, there was originally the covered courtyard, which was provided with a roof truss structure with iron arched members. Entirely to the left of the rear facade stands a small outbuilding with storey underneath a pentice roof. Above the transom window it is of rendered brick with false joints and has a square corner pinnacle. The left (eastern) end gable is a symmetrical spout gable with two windows per storey and corner pilasters which are crowned by projecting square turrets with sandstone crenellations. The top is provided with profiled drip mouldings. In the centre of the facade stands a projection which develops into the spout, which is provided with a square built-up structure with arched pediments.

Valuation

The very characteristic barrack building 'Wilhelmina' is of great architectural-historical value because of its relative intactness, the use of materials, stylistic purity and typological rarity. The landmark building is furthermore of value for socio-economic history and the history of Assen as a garrison town. The 'Wilhelmina' together with the 'Emma' and the 'Hendrik', the office and gymnasium building and the gates with sentry boxes on the Vaart side form a particularly distinctive complex with an evident coherence between the various complex components, by which the ensemble value is also considerable. The barrack building is furthermore part of the protected townscape Assen.