The Architectural Heritage of The Zoudenbalch Family in Utrecht and Environs
Stadskasteel / Huis Oudaen, formerly Huis Soudenbalch, a fortified city castle on the Oude Gracht probably built by Tydeman Zoudenbach (cited 1291). The city castle remained in the possession of the Zoudenbalchs until the second half of the 14th century but long continued to be known as Huis Soudenbalch; the first mention of the castle as Huis Oudaen was made in 1523.
Stadskasteel / Huis Soudenbalch, in the Donkerstraat. Gothic palace built by Dom Canon Evert Zoudenbalch, Lord of Urk and Emmeloord, in 1467-8 on a site which had long been linked to the Soudenbalchs. The beautiful gothic facade was probably designed by the Dommeester, who fell under Evert in his capacity as Procurator (fabrieksmeester) of the Dom. The mansion was a seigneurial domain within the city with a courtyard and a summer house. The family lived in the palace for a number of generations, and between 1600 and 1605 it even functioned as a secret Roman Catholic church under Zoudenbalch patronage. Behind the palace was a large garden which extended to the Mariastraat. The alleyway connecting the palace to the Buurkerk - originally the Soudenbalchstraat- was created by Evert ca. 1459.
Medieval gatehouse of Huis Soudenbalch in the Mariastraat still stands and currently serves as a shop. The gatehouse gave access to the garden and courtyard of the palace.
Soudenbalch Chapel in the Church of Sint Marie: the chapel was founded by Gerrit Soudenbalch (died 1312) who was Provost of the chapter of St. Marie in Utrecht, Deacon and Canon of the Dom and Canon of Sint Peter. Most members of the Zoudenbalch family were buried in this chapel. The chapel was destroyed when the Church of Sint Marie was demolished in the 19th century. Various images of the chapel have survived in the work of the well-known Dutch painter, Pieter Saenredam, who painted and sketched the interior of Sint Marie on numerous occasions.
Soudenbalch Chapel in the Dom (Cathedral) of Utrecht, which housed the tombs of Hendrik and Gerard Soudenbalch was demolished in 1847. It had been one of the three chapels on the southern ship of the Cathedral which had survived the tornado of 1674.
Sint Elisabethgasthuis (I) on the Vredenburg. The first orphanage in the northern Netherlands was founded by Evert Soudenbalch in 1491. The Sint Elisabethgasthuis consisted of three wings around a central courtyard, with a gothic chapel on the fourth side, measuring 38 x 50 m altogether. The most interesting architectural aspect of the complex was the double spiral stair tower, an extremely rare feature of which this was one of the earliest examples. It reflects the double spiral stair towers in the west wing of the Dom which were built at the same time under Evert’s procuratorship. As with his palace in the Donkerstraat Evert probably used his contacts as Procurator (fabrieksmeester) of the Dom to engage the most talented architects and artisans of his day to construct his foundation. The complex was damaged beyond repair in the siege of Vredenburg in 1567/68 and was subsequently demolished. The orphanage itself re-located to another site (see below).
Sint Elisabethgasthuis (II) was moved to a site between the Springstraat and the Oudegracht in 1582 following the destruction of the original gothic orphanage. It retained objects from the original foundation of Evert Soudenbalch, including the monumental portal on the Springweg portraying the Zoudenbalch arms supported by two orphans . In 1926 the orphanage moved again to a site on the Nieuwegracht, where the Evert Zoudenbalch Foundation is presently housed.
The Dom Church or Cathedral of Saint Martin, Utrecht was built over a number of centuries. Nonetheless Dom-Canon Evert Soudenbalch made a considerable contribution to the later period of construction in his long tenure as Procurator (fabrieksmeester) of the Dom, in which he helped supervise these building activities. He did not hesitate to use the talents of architects and masons working on the Dom to help create his palace in the Donkerstraat and the Sint Elisabethgasthuis which he founded.
Prattenburg Castle was built in the late 15th century by Evert Soudenbalch on a farm which he bought in 1474, situated on the Cuneraweg between Rhenen and Veenendaal. The castle stayed in the Zoudenbalch family for a century and then passed by inheritance to the Van Fladeracken and Van der Marsche families. It was demolished some time during the following centuries but was rebuilt as a small manor house in 1887.
Zoudenbalch Sports Complex on the outskirts of Utrecht is named after the Zoudenbalchs but the grounds themselves are not historically associated with the family. Appropriately for such a fiercely patriotic dynasty of the Sticht, these sport facilities are the training grounds for local football heroes FC Utrecht as well as various youth football teams from Utrecht.
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