Homosexual activities were life-threatening in the eighteenth century. Gays caught in the act were given the death penalty.
In 1674 a large part of the Utrecht Dom Church had collapsed during a storm. The ruins of the church remained until the 19th century. The dark corners of the ruins were an ideal meeting place for Utrecht gay men. Sodomy—that's what they called same-sex sex—was a serious crime and a great sin in those days. If you were caught in the act touching someone's crotch, you could go to jail for years. And for anal sex you got the death penalty.
In 1730 the practices around the Domplein made the news. The tower keeper claimed that scandals used a room in his tower as a finishing area. The story goes that the judge then wanted to determine this with his own eyes. He therefore had a hole made in a wall. Through that hole he indeed witnessed the quade werck. In other words, he caught two men in the act.
The arrests that followed signaled the start of a wave of sodomy trials throughout the Republic. In Utrecht alone, the judge handed down 11 death sentences, 6 banishments and 2 life sentences. Hundreds of suspects fled. After these events, Utrecht resident still meant gay.
Despite this persecution, the Domkerk remained a permanent meeting place for gays until the early 19th century. Since 1999, a gay monument on Domplein has been a reminder of the fierce persecution of Utrecht gays.