Utrecht City Crane
Stadskraan Utrecht

**An old essential part of the city that disappeared, is now reconstructed and put back in the streetscape. **

City cranes were very important for the income of the city: the canals that make the city so beautiful now were dug for a reason: trading. Boats would enter the city and unload goods on the wharfs. To get the goods up, the crane was used and that is why it was essential.

The goods were brought to the Waag (part of the old town hall), inspected and weighed. Taxes were then levied and the goods could be distributed throughout the city

In the year 1402 a city crane was built. It stood next to what is now Winkel van Sinkel, at the Old Canal. This was standing here until 1839 and has left the streetscape for a while now. That is why in 1985, the alderman commissioned an architect to see if they could reconstruct the old wooden city crane. It would be nice for tourists and an enrichment for the city. Because there was no money the plan was sort of forgotten. Instead, a plaque was put on the wall where the crane once stood.

But in September 2022 the crane came back, thanks to students from a craft school that worked on it for three years. The crane won’t be situated at the old location at the Old Canal, but at the Weerdsingel.