Hospital, Bunker, Mills, Bridges and Gates – Leiden (Un)Heard

This series of four Leiden soundwalks invites you to listen to Leiden through other “ears,” using recording techniques to give us new perspectives on known places or to listen in on spaces that usually go unheard. This soundwalk opens up the intimate sonic spaces of the Leiden University Medical Center, a working wind-powered sawmill and a reconstructed flour mill, and the sounds of bridge and gate, sites of city connection and delineation.

What frequencies can both humans and mice hear in Central Station? How does a bridge sound through contact mics? What does the outside world sound like within a WWII bunker or from a sensitive microphone tuned into the vibrations of the earth? How does turning the pages of a 400 year old book or a weaver working on a 200 year old loom sound? Hopefully these (Un)Heard sounds will give your ears a listen into the sonic possibilities of this cities and what can be discovered through listening everywhere you go!