Joan Derk van der Capellen
Joan Derk van der Capellen stands in bronze at Bethlehemkerkplein in Zwolle, beside the wall of the Bethlehemkerk. Eric Claus shows the eighteenth-century politician seated and writing. His hands work on “Aan het Volk van Nederland”, the pamphlet that demanded democracy, press freedom and equal rights for religious minorities. The hollow eyes reflect the fighting spirit Claus associated with those political ideas.
The monument emerged from Zwolle discussions and fundraising during the early 1980s, after earlier plans had failed. A proposed marble memorial instead travelled to Rome, while this bronze figure took shape through donations and city support. The finished work was placed near the house where Van der Capellen died, then moved to the square’s edge when the area became car-free in 1999. Today, protective posts and the Bethlehemkerk wall frame a figure whose unusual gaze remains its sharpest detail.
- City
- Zwolle
- Content updated
Take this page with you
The myTuur app is free, and once you are standing at a spot its story starts by itself.
Spots like this one are the stops myTuur strings into tours through Zwolle. In the app, each story begins where you stand: walk up to a spot and it starts, read it on screen or listen as you go, then follow the route to the next one.
What is myTuur?
myTuur is a free city-guide app. Its tours are built from spots, and each spot carries a story that starts when you get there, to read or to listen to as you like.