Delft's history rediscovered through one modern platform
With the new Erfgoed Delft platform, Delft's rich history is accessible to everyone. Thanks to smart search functions and a modern design, the collection is now easy to explore, whether you are looking for an archaeological find, want to locate historical building drawings, or are preparing a school assignment.
100% of the content
All content from the three former websites has been migrated and is searchable within the new platform.
6.5 million archive items
Millions of archive items are searchable through a single interface, without visitors needing any knowledge of archival jargon.
Three heritage organisations, one face to the world
Monumentenzorg, Archaeology and the Delft City Archives operated as separate departments, each with its own website, its own look and feel, and its own management structure. This made sense given the history of these organisations, but it no longer matched how visitors experience heritage. Someone exploring a Delft monument also wants to see the excavation reports, or the newspaper articles from the same period. The content connection existed, but not online.
A design that inspires confidence, yet also sparks curiosity and invites exploration. Something that welcomes both the researcher and the Delft resident who happens to click by to look a little further.
Deciding together what the platform should do
Our work with Erfgoed Delft centred on the editorial process. How do the three departments tell stories together? Which content calls for news, and which for a dossier? And how do we ensure that archivists and editors can publish independently, without technical expertise? Those questions shaped the structure of the CMS, not the other way round. The new house style has been translated into a platform that reflects the diversity of the collection, from medieval documents to recent excavation photographs, without becoming visually cluttered. A single editorial team safeguards coherence, while each department contributes its own expertise.
Hundreds of thousands of archive items, discoverable by everyone
At the heart of the platform is the search engine, which provides access to the entire collection: documents, photographs, audio recordings, the newspaper archive, excavation reports and monument files. The search functionality is built as a user-friendly layer on top of the existing archive system, so that a schoolchild, journalist or researcher can search the same material through the same interface, without any prior archival knowledge.
One platform that grows with the organisation
The launch of erfgoeddelft.nl marks not an endpoint, but a new starting point. The three departments now work from a shared editorial structure, with a platform that is scalable and suits the way Erfgoed Delft wants to tell its stories. Visitors not only find what they were looking for, but also discover what they didn't yet know to search for.
View the platform →The Heritage of Delft
City Archives
The City Archives preserve and share archives. Search with us for people, houses and events. Delft holds archives from government bodies, churches, schools, notaries, associations, families and individuals. These collections make the past visible to anyone who wants to know how Delft became what it is today.
Archaeology
Our archaeologists investigate what lies hidden beneath the ground. During construction works, they keep an eye out for traces in the soil. Hidden traces reveal how people in Delft once lived. Every find is a piece of the puzzle, together telling a story about Delft.
Monuments
The Monuments team ensures that our city's special buildings and places are preserved. They advise on restoration and maintenance. For tailored advice on sustainability, you've come to the right place.
Scalable solution
The website is responsive, for use on both desktop and mobile. The platform was developed modularly, with separate building blocks for authentication and content management, and integration with the archive system.
Framework
ReactJS | NestJS | Directus Headless CMS | Docker | Microsoft Azure