The Vleeshal is a historical building dating from 1603 on the Grote Markt in

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

, the Netherlands.

History

''Vleeshal'' means meat-hall; it was the only place in Haarlem where fresh meat was allowed to be sold from 1604 to the 18th century. The ox-heads on the front of the building indicate the function of the hall. The building was used for selling fresh meat; salted meat was sold in the Warmoesstraat, the street next to the building. It was designed in renaissance style by

Lieven de Key Lieven de Key (1560 – 17 July 1627) was a Dutch renaissance architect in the Netherlands, mostly known today for his works in Haarlem. His style is described by Simon Schama as Mannerist. Biography De Key was born in Ghent, and was already a w ...

. It was built from 1602 to 1603. Before that there was already a small Vleeshal on the crossing of the Spekstraat and the Warmoesstraat, but around 1600 it had become too small, and the meat had to be sold outside. The new building was a prestigious project; expensive materials and a beautiful design were used. It opened on November 1, 1604. There was room for 40 different meat merchants in the building. The building was in use as meat-hall until 1840. Afterwards it was used by the National Archive (''Rijksarchief'') and the

Haarlem Public Library The Stadsbibliotheek Haarlem (Haarlem Public Library) is a collective name for all public libraries in the Haarlem area of the Netherlands. The first ''public'' library of Haarlem opened in 1921 at the cloisters of the Haarlem City Hall where ...

Two Museums

Since 1950 the building has been in use as a gallery by the

Frans Hals Museum The Frans Hals Museum is a museum located in Haarlem, the Netherlands. The museum was established in 1862. In 1950, the museum was split in two locations when the collection of modern art was moved to the '' Museum De Hallen'' (since 2018 called ...

, which holds art exhibitions there under the name "

Frans Hals Museum - Hal Frans Hals Museum - Hal (until March 29 2018: ''De Hallen Haarlem'') is one of the two locations of the Frans Hals Museum, located on the Grote Markt, Haarlem, Netherlands, where modern and contemporary art is on display in alternating presentatio ...

". The entrance to that museum is through the house directly to the right of the building. The cellar of the Vleeshal is used by the Archaeological Museum Haarlem, which has a permanent exhibition on various aspects of the archeology of Haarlem, as well as a modest exhibition area for new finds. The entrance to that museum is through the small door on the left leading down into the cellar.

Replicas

The

West End Collegiate Church The West End Collegiate Church is a church on West End Avenue at 77th Street on Manhattan's Upper West Side. It is part of The Collegiate Reformed Protestant Dutch Church in the City of New York, the oldest Protestant church with a continuing o ...

West End Avenue West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

is modeled after the Vleeshal. File:Vleeshal (Haarlem).JPG, View from the Spekstraat, or ''Bacon-street'' Image:Haarlem Vleeshal Achtergevel 1.JPG, The ox-heads on the building indicate its original function Image:West End Collegiate Church 77 jeh.JPG,

References

External links

Website
{{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1603 Museums in Haarlem History of Haarlem Rijksmonuments in Haarlem Frans Hals Museum 1603 establishments in the Dutch Republic