Delft, city in the western Netherlands, in Zuid-Holland (South Holland) Province, on the Schie River, near Rotterdam. Principal manufactures are chemicals, tobacco products, carpets, cloth, soap, mathematical instruments, pottery (called new delft), and leather. The city, intersected by canals, contains a number of notable buildings, including the Prinsenhof, now a museum, where William I, prince of Orange, was assassinated in 1584; the Old Church (13th century); the New Church (14th century), noted for a tall Gothic tower and set of chimes. The Town Hall (1618) contains portraits by Michiel van Mierevelt. Jan Vermeer, the painter of the famous View of Delft (1660?), was born and lived here. The Delft University of Technology (1842), a prestigious engineering school, is here. Founded in the 11th century, the town was heavily damaged by fire in 1536 and by the explosion of a powder magazine in 1654. It was famous in the 17th and 18th centuries for the ceramics known as delftware, which has experienced a revival in this century. Population (2000) 96,370.
