DELFT, town, province of South Holland, on the Schie, 5 m. S.E. by S. of The Hague, Holland. Pop. Delft was founded in 1075 by Godfrey duke of Lower Lorraine, after his conquest of Holland, passing then to the counts of Holland. In 1246 it received a charter from Count William II. (see C. Hegel, Stddte and Gilden, ii. 251). In 1536 it was almost totally destroyed by fire, and in 1654 largely ruined by explosion of a powder magazine.
The Prinsenhof, previously a monastery, was converted into a residence for the counts of Orange in 1575; here William the Silent was assassinated. It is now the William of Orange Museum. The former church of St. Ursula (14th century) is now the New Church. It has a fine tower and chime of bells, and contains a monument to William the Silent, executed by Hendrik de Keyser and his son about 1621, and the tomb of Hugo Grotius, whose statue stands in the market-place. The Old Church, founded in the 11th century, but in its present form dating from 1476, con tains monuments erected to admirals Martin Tromp and Piet Hein, as well as the tomb of Leeuwenhoek. In the town hall (1618) are some corporation pictures, portraits of the counts of Orange and Nassau, including several by Michiel van Mierevelt (1567-1641). The Indian Institute was abolished about 1900, and the civil service training for the colonies is now conducted at Leyden and Utrecht. The Technical High School, formed in 1905 from the former Polytechnic School, is the sole qualifying university for engineers.
Delft is most intimately associated with the manufacture of the beautiful faience pottery for which it was once famous. (See CERAMICS.) This industry was imported from Haarlem towards the end of the 16th century, and achieved an unrivalled position in the second half of the following century ; but it did not survive the French occupation at the end of the 18th century. It has, however, been revived in modern times under the name of "New Delft." The chemical industry is very important, as is also the manufacture of tobacco.