Delft, monumentaal pand4 foto8 2009-09-27 14

The City Hall in

Delft Delft () is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, and The Hague, to the northwest. Together with them, it is part of both the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan ...

is a

Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought ...

building on the Markt across from the Nieuwe Kerk. It is the seat of the city's government as well as a popular venue for civic wedding ceremonies. Most administrative functions have been transferred to an office inside the Delft railway station building. Originally designed by the Dutch architect

Hendrick de Keyser Hendrick de Keyser (15 May 1565 – 15 May 1621) was a Dutch sculptor, merchant in Belgium bluestone, and architect who was instrumental in establishing a late Renaissance form of Mannerism changing into Baroque. Most of his works appeared in Ams ...

, it was heavily changed over the centuries and was restored in the 20th century to its Renaissance appearance.

History

Delft - De brand van het stadhuis op 4 maart 1618

In the town hall from 1618 are some group portraits, and portraits of the counts of Orange and Nassau, including several by Michiel van Mierevelt (1567–1641), one of the earliest Dutch portrait painters, and with his son

Pieter Pieter is a male given name, the Dutch form of Peter. The name has been one of the most common names in the Netherlands for centuries, but since the mid-twentieth century its popularity has dropped steadily, from almost 3000 per year in 1947 ...

(1595–1623), a native of Delft. The oldest part of the complex is the belfry covered in " Gobertanger"

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

from

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—al ...

, a building material used often in important renaissance buildings in the Netherlands up to 1600. The tower, called "De Steen" or "The Stone", was originally built around 1300 and has decorative clockfaces from 1536 and the bells were made by Hendrick van Trier and Francois Hemony.

Rijksmonument A rijksmonument (, ) is a national heritage site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. At the end of February 2015, the Netherlands ...

report The facade has a "Justitia" statue. Under the tower is an old city prison where the assassin of

Willem the Silent William the Silent (24 April 153310 July 1584), also known as William the Taciturn (translated from nl, Willem de Zwijger), or, more commonly in the Netherlands, William of Orange ( nl, Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch Re ...

Balthasar Gérard Balthasar Gérard (alternative spellings Gerards or Gerardts; c. 1557 – 14 July 1584) was the assassin of the Dutch revolt's leader, William the Silent of the House of Orange (William the Silent, and later known as the "Father of the Fatherl ...

, was kept before sentencing. Up the stairway and immediately behind the heavy wooden entrance doors is the

Vierschaar A Vierschaar is a historical term for a tribunal in the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , establis ...

, with a decorative painting of the

Judgment of Solomon The Judgement of Solomon is a story from the Hebrew Bible in which Solomon ruled between two women both claiming to be the mother of a child. Solomon revealed their true feelings and relationship to the child by suggesting the baby be cut in two ...

by Pieter van Bronckhorst.

Vierschaar

File:Delft stadhuis-vierschaar.jpg, Vierschaar with painting on the wall by Bronkhorst File:Pieter van Bronckhorst -oordeel van Salamo - vierschaar Delft.jpg, Judgement of Salomon, by Bronkhorst, 1622 File:Delft wedding in Delft stadhuis.jpg, The City hall is still used for civic weddings, and couples pass through the Vierschaar to the main hall for the ceremony File:Workshop Peter Paul Rubens - Oordeel van Salamo - vierschaar Delft.jpg, Judgement of Salomon by Rubens'workshop, c.1615

Other views

File:WLM - EvaM1978 - Stadhuis Delft.jpg, View of the front facade with sculpture of Justitia File:11901 stadhuis delft gezien vanaf nieuwe kerk.jpg, City hall seen from the tower in the Nieuwe Kerk opposite File:StadhuisDelft-01.jpg, Seen from the front File:Stadhuis Delft 1e etage kamer.jpg, Inside, the Nieuwe Kerk is seen through the window File:Delft City Hall Winter.jpg, City hall in winter

References

{{coord, 52, 0, 41, N, 4, 21, 28, E, display=title, region:NL_type:landmark_source:nlwiki Buildings and structures completed in the 17th century

Rijksmonuments in Delft