The Oldest City Panorama

De Bastei, Nijmegen. Het Nijmeegsch Rondgezicht. Poster. Photo/Foto: De Bastei.

As of 24 March 2019, the Bastei presents the oldest Dutch city in a surprisingly new way. The ‘Nijmeegsch Rondgezicht’ Derk Anthony van de Wart (1767-1824) has been enlarged to 100 times its original size and offers a unique view of the 19th century landscape. The ‘Nijmeegsch Rondgezicht’ is the oldest city panorama of the Netherlands. Derk Anthony van de Wart captured this vista in 1806, from the Belvedère, just after the destruction of the Valkhof castle.  It shows the cramped fortified town amidst the grand and vast river landscape. It is for this exhibition that Kees Moerbeek has enlarged the original etchings and has complemented it with information in order to provide a clear picture of life in the beginning of the 19th century.