Gravestones at Burgemeester Brouwerplantsoen

Near the two bronze chairs, there are several gravestones in the park. They no longer contain any remains, but serve as a reminder of the General Civil Cemetery that used to be located here. The cemetery remained in use until Amersfoort’s city hall was built on this site in 1971.

One of the tombstones belongs to Jan Cock Blomhoff and his wife. The inscription reads: “Here lies Jan Cock Blomhoff, former chief of Decima, born August 5, 1779, died October 13, 1853.”

Jan Cock Blomhoff (1779–1853) served as “chief,” or leader, of the Dutch trading post Deshima from 1817 through 1823. Between 1641 and 1859, this island served as a Dutch trading post and was the sole point of contact between the Western world and largely isolated Japan.

After 1823, Blomhoff settled in Amersfoort, where he had Huize Birkhoven built. He died in 1853 and was buried at the Achter Davidshof Cemetery, where City Hall now stands.