Inktpot Utrecht
Landmark with flying saucer on top
Just outside the old city centre, on the outskirts of the area around the massive central station, lies the biggest brick building in the country, strikingly called the Inktpot (inkwell). With Utrecht being the railway capital of The Netherlands, the building originally housed the head office of the Dutch Railways but nowadays houses Pro Rail, the organization that manages the Dutch railway network.
The building indeed resembles an inkwell, with its tiny top towering over the massive brick foundation. While Utrecht is known for its medieval city centre as well as its ugly post-war architecture around Hoog Catherijne, this building provides a welcome change with an almost film-noir-esque vibe. What really adds to that is the massive flying saucer on top of the building that lights up during the night. The saucer was originally part of the art event Panorama 2000.
There were 22 milion bricks used to build the building. For the foundation, 21 kilometers of old railway tracks were used, and they even bought a whole forest to supply enough wood for the massive structure.
The park around the building is annually used for the Parade festival.
The inside of the building is not open to the public, which is a shame, as the interior is just as fascinating as the outside. The building is sometimes opened up as part of Heritage Day (Nationale Monumentendag), which takes place every year on the second weekend in September, but outside of that, do check out the exterior, it's worth it.
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