Scaffolding being removed from Utrecht’s Dom tower after 4-year-long restoration

After four years behind scaffolding for restoration, Utrecht’s iconic Dom Tower will return to its full glory. The dismantling of the scaffolding starts on Wednesday, RTV Utrecht reports.

The first fences were placed around the tower on Domplein almost five years ago, on 27 November 2018. The scaffolding followed later, hiding the Dom Tower from full view for over four years.

Cor Jansen of Utrecht Marketing is delighted that the scaffolding is finally coming down. “Utrecht without Dom is unthinkable. Absolutely unthinkable,” he told the regional broadcaster. “It determines the character of the city. Just ask the average tattoo shop what they tattoo most often. It is the Dom, without scaffolding. There is little else that is more in the DNA of Utrecht residents than the Dom tower.”

Alderman Dennis de Vries couldn’t agree more. “The fact that the Dom can soon be seen in all its glory again is extremely important for the city,” he said. His own children have never seen the iconic tower without the scaffolding. “I think that’s true for many people. Not just children, but also for people who have recently moved to the city.”

While they are happy to see the scaffolding go, it also brought a lot of beauty over the past four years, the men told RTV Utrecht, mentioning the temporary lift in particular. “Thanks to the lift, we have had people whose last wish was to get to the top of the Dom one more time. People in wheelchairs, even in hospital beds,” Jansen said. It gave people with mobility issues the opportunity to go up the tower. Jansen thinks it’s a shame that the elevator couldn’t stay.

Still, the scaffolding coming down primarily joyful, Jansen said. De Vries agrees: “I often hear from people that they feel they’re back home when they see the Dom again. Soon, this will be possible again without scaffolding. The end is in sight, and that is a great moment.”

Those who want to go up the Dom Tower but don’t want to brave the 465 stairs do have another option, though it requires some traveling, Jansen said. “In a theme park in Japan, there is an almost exact replica of the Dom Tower, but with an elevator inside. So everyone can go up there.”