The Waag (''Waegh'') is a former

Weigh house A weighhouse or weighing house is a public building at or within which goods are weighed. Most of these buildings were built before 1800, prior to the establishment of international standards for weights, and were often a large and representative ...

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

that today serves as a café catering to tourists.

History

The building was designed by

Lieven de Key Lieven de Key (1560 – 17 July 1627) was a Flemish renaissance architect who after working in his native Flanders moved to work in the Dutch Republic. He is mostly known today for his works in Haarlem. His style is described by Simon Schama as M ...

around 1597 and is built with ''Namense steen'' from

Namur, Belgium Namur (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Namur Province, Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of W ...

. It is the only building in Haarlem that was built this way, and was designed in its day as a landmark that befits an authority. The weigh house masters needed to be able to judge the correct measure of a shipload of grain that was delivered in Haarlem. Inside the large cast iron balance can still be seen. The location of the weigh house was strategically located where the

Spaarne The Spaarne is a river in North Holland, Netherlands. This partially canalized river connects the Ringvaart to a side branch of the North Sea Canal. It runs through Haarlem, Heemstede, and Spaarndam. The historic canals of Haarlem's moats are c ...

river joins the ''beek'', a small canal that according to tradition was used to carry fresh water from the dunes to serve the brewers of Haarlem. Haarlem was known for its beer brewing in the 15th-17th centuries. A large wooden crane operated by wheels driven by manpower was used to hoist the grain on ships into the Waag building and back into other ships or carts for further transport. The wooden crane can be seen on most historic pictures of the Spaarne up until 1872. In 1821 the top floor of the Waag was rented to the artist club Kunst zij ons doel for drawing classes gathered around a live model. The room is still used for this function, though fewer drawing classes are held nowadays and the rooms are often used for exhibitions. The entrance to the artist club is via the small staircase on the Spaarne side.

Gallery

File:Gerrit Adriaensz. Berckheyde 006.jpg, ''De Waag and Crane on the Spaarne, Haarlem'', looking north, by Gerrit Adriaensz Berckheyde File:Romeyn de Hooghe - De Waag Haarlem UBL01 P328N102.jpg, ''De Waegh'', looking north, by Romeyn de Hooghe, 1690 File:Cornelis van Noorde - Slepershoofd Spaarne 1767.jpg, ''Slepershoofd''; Wooden crane, looking northeast, by Cornelis van Noorde, 1767 File:Spaarne, Inventarisnummer NL-HlmNHA 10717.JPG, Wooden crane, looking westwards towards the

Grote Kerk, Haarlem The Grote Kerk or St.-Bavokerk is a Reformed tradition, Reformed Protestant church located on the central market square (Grote Markt (Haarlem), Grote Markt) in the Netherlands, Dutch city of Haarlem. The church was built in 1307. Prior to the Re ...

, shown with the corner of the Waag on the far right, by

Adolphe Braun Jean Adolphe Braun (13 June 1812 – 31 December 1877)John Hannavy, Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography', Vol. 1 (Routledge, 2007), pp. 204–205. was a French photographer, best known for his floral still lifes, Parisian street scenes ...

, 1865

Notes

{{reflist

References

History
on Haarlem website
website
of the café "Taverne De Waag"
KZOD
website Buildings and structures in Haarlem History of Haarlem Rijksmonuments in Haarlem Buildings and structures completed in 1597 Weigh houses