Middelburg Town Hall is situated at the market of

Middelburg Middelburg may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Europe * Middelburg, Zeeland, the capital city of the province of Zeeland, southwestern Netherlands ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Middelburg, a former Catholic diocese with its see in the Zeeland ...

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

. It is considered one of the finest Gothic buildings in the Netherlands. Construction began in 1452 and was supervised by several generations of the Flemish family of architects Keldermans. Construction was completed in 1520, the town hall received a facade with Gothic windows, red-white shutters, smaller turrets and twenty-five statues of Zeeland's counts and countesses. The building has one main tower, which the Middelburgers call 'Malle Betje'. This mocking name comes from the fact it used to run behind the town's other clock tower, the 'lange Jan'. A meat-auction or 'meathall' used to be situated in the building, which had a separate entrance. Whereas the town hall itself is still used for weddings, since 2004 its spaces are in use by the

University College Roosevelt University College Roosevelt (UCR), formerly known as Roosevelt Academy (RA), is a small, honors undergraduate liberal arts and science college located in Middelburg in the Netherlands and the sole university in Zeeland. It offers a residentia ...

, the local university. The former meat hall has been in use as an exhibition space for the SBKM since 1980.

Statues

The statues on the facades represented

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

s and countesses of the province of

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

. They were painted in bright

color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are assoc ...

s, especially in

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

and

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

, the crowns being partially goldened. The series of statues starts at the left with Count Dirk V, who ruled from 1061 to 1091. The series ends with Emperor Charles V (1506-1555). The ruler at the date of completion,

Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...

(1555-1598) is not included, even though a pedestal in reserved for him. This is most likely due to the war he waged with 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 ...

from 1569 onwards.

Reconstruction

Na de verwoesting - Middelburg - 20154733 - RCE

The town hall's interiors burnt down entirely on May 17, 1940 during the bombardments in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Like most of the old town center of Middelburg, the town hall suffered the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

bombardments. Old paintings and documents were lost, only the exterior remained. A large restorative campaign started, which lasted till late in the 20th century. It was decided to restore the Gothic facades, and to add a new building into the interiors, in a style fitting with the traditional Gothic building. The architects H. van Heeswijk from The Hague and M. J. J. van Beveren supervised this reconstruction.

References

* http://www.zeeuwseankers.nl/nl-NL/verhaal/504/het-stadhuis-van-middelburg

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20150928174509/http://www.ucr.nl/Pages/default.aspx * https://web.archive.org/web/20161021070907/https://bruiloft.nl/trouwen-in-middelburg#.VGX7pr4hHbI {{coord, 51.4989, N, 3.6108, E, source:wikidata, display=title Rijksmonuments in Middelburg, Zeeland Monuments and memorials in the Netherlands

Wedding chapels

Statues

Reconstruction

See also

References

External links