page_title: City Hall (Haarlem)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: City Hall (Haarlem) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Old 15th century painting by the Master of Bellaert showing the subject of Christ before Pilate, also shows a detail of the Haarlem city Hall. This painting was originally discovered in Rome in 1928. Research proves it to be a product of the anonymous artist "Master of Bellaert", who gets his name from Jacob Bellart, the earliest known printer of Haarlem, who illustrated his books with woodcuts by this same artist. In the background the city Hall of Haarlem is shown, with the original Dominican church behind it (torn down after the Protestant reformation and rebuilt in Renaissance style for city offices). On the right is the Market square with a fortified tower at the corner of the Barteljorisstraat. Français&#160;: Détail d’un tableau de 1460, peint par le maître de Bellaert, découvert à Rome en 1928, et ayant pour sujet la confrontation du Christ avec Ponce Pilate, mais dans lequel est accessoirement figuré l’hôtel de ville de Haarlem, tel qu’il se présentait à cette époque. On aperçoit&#160;: derrière l’édifice, en haut à gauche, le couvent des dominicains (dévolu à la municipalité haarlémoise et en partie démoli lors de la Réforme protestante)&#160;; à droite en bas, la Grand’Place de Haarlem&#160;; en haut à droite, ancienne tour défensive, se dressant autrefois à l’angle de l’actuelle Barteljorisstraat&#160;; en bas à gauche, la Pandpoort, porche ogival donnant entrée au cloître du couvent des dominicains.
context_page_description: The City Hall in Haarlem is the seat of the city's government. It was built in the 14th century replacing the Count's castle.
context_section_description: Around 1100 a wooden building was constructed on the location of the current Gravenzaal of the City Hall. Traces of this building were found in 1955.
  After large fires in 1347 and 1351, William II, Count of Holland donated the remains of the Gravenzaal to the city's municipality. A new building was built there. The central square building dates from the Middle Ages, but the distinctive façade of the building was designed by architect Lieven de Key and built from 1602-1604. The way it originally looked can be seen in a painting from 1460 by the Master of Bellaert. Originally the city hall was just the front of the building, and the rear cloister belonged to the Dominican brotherhood. After the Protestant Reformation this came into the possession of the city council and it is now a large complex with offices and meeting rooms. Both the Frans Hals Museum and the Haarlem Public Library originally were located in the city hall.
  The town hall is still used for civic weddings and nearly every Friday in Spring, brides can be seen entering and leaving by the main stairway. All year on Saturdays and Mondays there is a big market in front of the City Hall, where on Saturdays mainly flowers, household goods, and food is sold, though on Mondays the products are mainly cloth, sewing accessories and clothing. Although the market is frequented by the local population, it is also a tourist attraction and worth a visit, if only to try the raw herring from the fish stand, or stroopwafels from the stroopwafel stand. The town hall is also still used for state visits, most recently when the King and Queen paid a visit to Haarlem on 14 June 2013. They heard the local choir Zang en Vriendschap sing and received a book about all the previous royal state visits to Haarlem. 
  The town hall was traditionally a gathering place for various gentlemen, and the Dutch Society of Science started meeting there in 1752, which was the beginning of a municipal museum for natural history, that today no longer exists, though its "competitor" founded in 1781 still does; namely the Teylers Museum. When they moved out, the paintings stayed and they became the Haarlem municipal museum, which moved out in 1913 to become the Frans Hals museum.
caption: City Hall of Haarlem, detail from 1460 painting by the Master of Bellaert.
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