Duitse Huis

Duitse Huis
View of the buildings on the Springweg from a drawing c. 1720 by Abraham Rademaker
General information
Town or city	Utrecht
Country	Netherlands
Coordinates	52°05′17″N 5°07′07″E / 52.087972°N 5.118495°E / 52.087972; 5.118495Coordinates: 52°05′17″N 5°07′07″E / 52.087972°N 5.118495°E / 52.087972; 5.118495
Current tenants	Teutonic Knights Grand Hotel Karel V
Construction started	1348
Renovated	1992-95
Owner	Teutonic Knights

The Duitse Huis (English: Teutonic House) is a complex of buildings in the city of Utrecht, Netherlands, protected as a national monument. The older parts date to a monastery of the Bailiwick of Utrecht of the Teutonic Knights founded in 1348. Originally Catholic, the order became Protestant during the Reformation. A military hospital was added in 1823 after the knights had sold the property. The property was sold back to the Bailiwick of Utrecht and a major renovation started in 1992. Some of the older buildings are again the headquarters of the Bailiwick of Utrecht, now a charity, and hold an important collection of medieval manuscripts, coins and pictures. Other buildings, including the former hospital, have been converted into a five-star hotel, the Grand Hotel Karel V.

The Teutonic Order was one of the great Christian military orders, along with the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller. It was mainly active in the Holy Land and the Baltic region, but had many branches in the west to provide sources of funds and of recruits. The Bailiwick of Utrecht of the Teutonic Order (Ridderlijke Duitse Orde Balije van Utrecht) was founded in 1231, initially focused mainly on the spiritual development of its own members. The order held agricultural lands, called commanderies, in different areas of the Netherlands, The knights and priests had taken the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. In 1348 the order built the Duitse Huis as a monastery and headquarters between the city wall and Springweg in Utrecht.

The Emperor Charles V (1500-1558) visited Utrecht between 30 December 1545 and 3 February 1546. A meeting of the chapter of the order of the Golden Fleece began on 2 January 1546, attended by Charles V and his sister Mary of Hungary (governor of the Netherlands). Kings Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France, both knights of the order, were present at this important event. The meetings of the chapter and the feasts took place in the Duitse Huis.