The+Delft+Explosion

Because of the Eighty Years War, the Dutch army kept central stores of gunpowder in the city walls of Delft. On the morning of October 12, 1654 an explosion, like a thunderclap, happened in the northeast section of the city. A magazine, used for storing ammunition, had blown up. The building contained 80,000 to 90,000 pounds of black power.

Many still don't know the cause of the explosion but some say before it happened, the keeper of the magazine went inside with a visitor. Half an hour later the explosion started. It wasn't the first or the last time a huge explosion ripped up the city. The explosion is known in history by the name of "Der Delftse Donderslag" (The Delft Thunderclap). The explosion was heard as far as the Texel on the North Sea (150 km away). At least a quarter of the city was destroyed. It was quite fortunate that most citizens were out of the city at the time of the explosion. Since it was at the age of huge religious conviction, some actually thought it was the end of the world or the gates of hell opening and God's wrath raining down on the town. The number of casualties is unknown, but it was estimated that at least a hundred deaths happened and injured thousands of people. Among the dead was one of Delft's famous painters, Carel Fabritius. He died of his wounds from the disaster. By: Caitlyn Dixon