Egbert van der Poel
A View of Delft after the Explosion of 1654

The Delft Explosion occurred on October 12, 1654 when a gunpowder store exploded destroying much of the city of Delft in the Netherlands. Over a hundred people were killed and thousands wounded. Image File history File links Delftexp. ... October 12 is the 285th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (286th in leap years). ... Events April 5 - Signing of the Treaty of Westminster, ending the First Anglo-Dutch War. ... Smokeless powder Gunpowder, whether black powder or smokeless powder, is a substance that burns very rapidly, releasing gases that act as a propellant in firearms. ... Country Netherlands Province South Holland Coordinates Area 24. ...

About 40 tonnes of gunpowder were stored in barrels in a magazine in a former Clarissen convent in the Doelenkwartier district. Cornelis Soetens, the keeper of the magazine, opened the store to check a sample of the powder and a huge explosion followed. Luckily, many citizens were away, visiting a market in Schiedam or a fair in the Hague. A tonne (also called metric ton) is a non-SI unit of mass, accepted for use with SI, defined as: 1 tonne = 103 kg (= 106 g). ... Traditional wooden barrels in Cutchogue Modern aluminium beer barrels - also called casks - outside the Castle Rock microbrewery in Nottingham, England A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container, traditionally made of wood staves and bound with iron hoops. ... Magazine is the name for a item or place within which ammunition is stored. ... The Order of Poor Ladies, also known as the Poor Clares, the Poor Clare Nuns, the Clarisse, the Minoresses, or the Second Order of St. ... This article is about an abbey as a religious building. ... Look up Market in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Nickname: Brandersstad Motto: Official website: http://www. ... A fair is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. ... Arms of The Hague Flag of The city of The Hague. ...

Artist Carel Fabritius was wounded in the explosion and died of his injuries. Self-portrait by Fabritius(1654) Carel Fabritius (1622-1654) was a Dutch painter and one of Rembrandts most gifted pupils. ...

Egbert van der Poel painted several pictures of Delft after the explosion showing the devastation.

Further reading

• Vermeer: A View of Delft, Anthony Bailey, Henry Holt & Company, 2001, ISBN 0-8050-6718-3

External links

• Radio Netherlands: The day the world came to an end
• National Gallery, London: A View of Delft after the Explosion of 1654