Oude stadhuis aan de Groenmarkt in Den Haag (03)

The Old City Hall in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

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 Greece, ancient Greek and ...

building on the Groenmarkt near the Grote Kerk. It is the former seat of the city's government, and remains a place where residents hold civic wedding ceremonies, and where the Royal family register their family births. Other families do this at the current city hall located in the large white building on the Kalvermarkt, near the Public library.

History

The town hall (built in 1565 and restored and enlarged in 1882) contains a historical picture gallery. The building was considered very large and imposing in its day; just after it was built in 1566

Lodovico Guicciardini Lodovico Guicciardini (19 August 1521 – 22 March 1589) was an Italian writer and merchant from Florence who lived primarily in Antwerp from 1542 or earlier. He was the nephew of historian and diplomat Francesco Guicciardini. ''Description of ...

referred to The Hague as ''the most beautiful, richest, and biggest village of Europe''. However, The Hague was not a walled town and therefore Guicciardini categorized it with the villages. For a village, the city hall must have seemed quite grand. That The Hague was thus vulnerable to attack makes it all the more amazing that the old City Hall survived the Protestant Revolution without damage to older ornaments and windows. File:Oude stadhuis aan de Groenmarkt in Den Haag (41).JPG, Group portrait of magistrates standing before an allegorical presentation of Salomon's judgement, 1682 by

Jan de Baen Jan de Baen (20 February 1633 – 1702) was a Dutch portrait painter who lived during the Dutch Golden Age. He was a pupil of the painter Jacob Adriaensz Backer in Amsterdam from 1645 to 1648. He worked for Charles II of England in his Dutch exil ...

. File:Oude stadhuis aan de Groenmarkt in Den Haag (71).JPG,

Vierschaar A Vierschaar is a historical term for a tribunal in the Netherlands. Before the separation of lawmaking, law enforcement, and justice duties, the government of every town was administered by a senate (called a ''Wethouderschap'') formed of two, thr ...

with 3 paintings by

Willem Doudijns Willem Doudijns (1630–1697), was a Dutch Golden Age painter and engraver. Biography According to the RKD he learned to draw from Alexander le Petit, and he spent 12 years in Italy. He returned home in 1661, where he collaborated with Jan ...

File:Oude stadhuis aan de Groenmarkt in Den Haag (20).JPG,

Overdoor An "overdoor" (or "Supraporte" as in German, or "sopraporte" as in Italian) is a painting, bas-relief or decorative panel, generally in a horizontal format, that is set, typically within ornamental mouldings, over a door, or was originally intend ...

Jacob de Wit Jacob de Wit (19 December 1695 – 12 November 1754) was a Dutch artist and interior decorator who painted many religious scenes. Biography Jacob de Wit was born in Amsterdam, and became famous for his door and ceiling paintings. He lived on ...

illustrating

Audi alteram partem (or ) is a Latin phrase meaning "listen to the other side", or "let the other side be heard as well". It is the principle that no person should be judged without a fair hearing in which each party is given the opportunity to respond to the evide ...

. The interior of the building underwent a number of changes over time, including restoration of the interior decorations that ended in 1773.

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 statues on the facade depict "Faith", "Hope", "Love", "Strength", and "Justice". They were made by the Hague sculptor

Jan Baptist Xavery Jan Baptist Xavery or Jan Baptist Xavery (30 March 1697, in Antwerp – 19 July 1742, in Antwerp) was a Flemish sculptor principally active in the Dutch Republic.

before 1742. A number of paintings and objects from The Hague's artists of the

Confrerie Pictura The Confrerie Pictura was a more or less academic club of artists founded in 1656 in The Hague (the Netherlands) by local art painters, who were unsatisfied by the Guild of Saint Luke there. History The guild of St. Luke in the Hague existed a ...

are found inside the building.

References

{{coord, 52, 4, 40, N, 4, 18, 30, E, display=title, region:NL_type:landmark_source:nlwiki Buildings and structures completed in 1566 Former seats of local government

Rijksmonuments in The Hague

History

See also

References