The Rechthuis (; en, Law House) is a former courthouse in the village of

Bellingwolde Bellingwolde (; Gronings: ''Bennewolle'') is a village with a population of 2,655 people in the municipality Westerwolde in the Netherlands. It is situated in the southeast of the region Oldambt, in the north of the region Westerwolde, and in ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The building with two

crow-stepped gable A stepped gable, crow-stepped gable, or corbie step is a stairstep type of design at the top of the triangular gable-end of a building. The top of the parapet wall projects above the roofline and the top of the brick or stone wall is stacked in a ...

s was established in 1643 and used as a civil court for the area Bellingwolde-

Blijham Blijham () is a village with a population of 2,240 in the municipality of Westerwolde in the province of Groningen in the Netherlands. The origins of the settlement date back to the 11th century. Until 1968, Blijham was part of the municipality ...

until 1811. The building has been a

national heritage site A national heritage site is a heritage site having a value that has been registered by a governmental agency as being of national importance to the cultural heritage or history of that country. Usually such sites are listed in a heritage regist ...

since 1972. It is currently used as a private residence.

Building

The Rechthuis is located at the Hoofdweg ( en, Main Road),Het Rechthuis Bellingwolde
Marketing Groningen. Retrieved on 18 September 2014. near the Magnus Church, in the center of the village of

in the east of the province of

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

near the Dutch–German border. It is situated in the north of the region of Westerwolde.Rechthuis Voorm. rechthuis van Westerwolde (tot 1811) in Bellingwolde
Rijksmonumenten.nl. Retrieved on 18 September 2014. The building was established in 1643. One side of the building has a 17th-century style, the other side has an 18th-century style. The building has been restored in 1956–1957 after it was dilapidated. The rectangular building has a

saddle roof A saddle roof is a roof form which follows a convex curve about one axis and a concave curve about the other. The hyperbolic paraboloid form has been used for roofs at various times since it is easily constructed from straight sections of lumber, ...

with the ridge parallel to the road. On the short sides, it has

s with small windows, some of which have

shutters A window shutter is a solid and stable window covering usually consisting of a frame of vertical stiles and horizontal rails (top, centre and bottom). Set within this frame can be louvers (both operable or fixed, horizontal or vertical), solid ...

. Both gables are dated "1643" with the numbers as

anchor plate An anchor plate, floor plate or wall washer is a large plate or washer connected to a tie rod or bolt. Anchor plates are used on exterior walls of masonry buildings, for structural reinforcement against lateral bowing. Anchor plates are made o ...

s. In the one half of the building is a

semi-basement In architecture, a semi-basement is a floor of a building that is half below ground, rather than entirely such as a true basement or cellar. Traditionally, semi-basements were designed in larger houses where staff was housed. A semi-basement usu ...

with a room above it, in the other half of the building is a hall. Gea van Essen,
Bouwheer en bouwmeester: bouwkunst in Groningen, Stad en Lande (1594-1795)
', 2010. Retrieved on 18 September 2014. The Rechthuis has been a

( nl, rijksmonument) since 1972. Part of the village of Bellingwolde including the Rechthuis has been a protected village area ( nl, beschermd dorpsgezicht, links=no) since 2009.

Use

Courthouse

The Rechthuis was used as a courthouse for

civil cases Civil law is a major branch of the law.Glanville Williams. ''Learning the Law''. Eleventh Edition. Stevens. 1982. p. 2. In common law legal systems such as England and Wales and the United States, the term refers to non- criminal law. The law re ...

in the ''

heerlijkheid A ''heerlijkheid'' (a Dutch word; pl. ''heerlijkheden''; also called ''heerschap''; Latin: ''Dominium'') was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas in the Dutch-speaking Low Countries before 1800 ...

'' of

from 1643 to 1811. Before the current building was established, there might have been another courthouse at the same location as early as 1456. The judge ( nl, richter, links=no [

sic The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; "thus", "just as"; in full: , "thus was it written") inserted after a quoted word or passage indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated exactly as found in the source text, complete with any e ...

]) of the courthouse was appointed by the city of

and lived in the nearby Rigtersborg in Bellingwolde. In the hall of the building, he held three or four sessions per month and each session handled usually more than twenty cases. The courthouse was also used by the

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a ''magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

( nl, drost, links=no) of

Wedde Wedde () is a village in the municipality Westerwolde in the province Groningen in the Netherlands. It is located 9 km southeast of Winschoten. The castle Wedderborg is located in the village. History Most of Westerwolde was a raised ...

. In 1811, the courthouse in Bellingwolde was closed. The nearest court was now in the city of

Winschoten Winschoten (; gos, Winschoot) is a city with a population of 18,518 in the municipality of Oldambt in the northeast of the Netherlands. It is the largest city in the region of Oldambt in the province of Groningen which has 38,213 inhabitants. ...

Residence

After the courthouse was closed, the building became private property. In 1937, the building was bought by the municipality of Bellingwolde. The building is currently again privately owned. Marcel Looden,
Twee miljoen voor Burcht als kinderhotel
, ''

Dagblad van het Noorden The ''Dagblad van het Noorden'' (; en, Daily of the North), abbreviated as ''DvhN'', is a Dutch regional daily newspaper that is published and circulated in the provinces of Groningen and Drenthe in the northeastern Netherlands. The newspaper is ...

'', 2006. Retrieved on 18 September 2014. As a private residence, it cannot be visited by the public.

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Rechthuis (Bellingwolde) Bellingwolde Buildings and structures completed in 1643 Former courthouses in the Netherlands Rijksmonuments in Groningen (province) 1643 establishments in the Dutch Republic