The Lime of the Havik

Every other old lime along this quay was cut back hard and made to grow again. This one was left alone, and it is the tree that still gives the Havik its shape. The national register's own history for the Havik-linde says the two rows that once lined both sides of the water were all rejuvenated at some point, except this one, and that it is in good health. The water it stands on was a working harbour. Havik comes from Havenwijk, the harbour quarter, and this short canal was where medieval Amersfoort loaded and unloaded before the trade moved on and the quay became a street of houses with a bridge in the middle of it. The age is where the sources part company. The Bomenstichting register puts the planting between 1880 and 1890 and places the tree beside the Bolle brug. An older city nature walk dates the surviving Havik lime to 1850, and a local tree expert's list, sent to us through IVN Amersfoort in October 2026, also gives 1850 for the lime beside the bridge. So the page carries both: about 140 years by the register, about 175 by local reckoning.