In the Netherlands, there is a tradition not to close the windows. There are a lot of different assumptions about its origin. Someone says that the curtains were banned by the Spaniards and recalls the inquisition, others said that it is forbidden to hide the interior decoration. Here we would like to tell you the truth which goes back to ancient times.

In the middle of the 16th century, the cruel Fernando Alvarez de Toledo was the third Duke of Alba. He was appointed as a Governor of the Spanish Netherlands. For 4 short years of his leadership, more than 18 thousand civilians were executed. Among the many tyrannical orders of the Duke, there was a ban on the closed curtains of the window, as the Dutch often arranged home shops for the production of weapons and held revolutionary meetings.

However, after some time, King Philip the II was forced to withdraw Alba from the Netherlands – his efforts to suppress the Dutch insurgency began to border on fanaticism and led to unforeseen political and economic consequences. A few years later the revolution won – a number of Dutch provinces gained independence, and the first of the modern republics has appeared on the map of Europe.

It would seem that when Alba left the Netherlands, the Dutch were the first to rush to put curtains on the windows, but it was not so, – a tradition remained. The Dutch became proud that they had nothing to hide and their way of life corresponded to the Christian beliefs about morality.

Thanks to the Duke of Alba, whose name in Protestant countries has become synonymous with tyranny, blood, and cruelty, citizens of the Netherlands stopped curtain the windows, and today this tradition gives special look to Dutch cities. Whatever it was, nowadays it is one of the bright features that leaves a unique impression of the Netherlands.