Alkmaar City Hall (Stadhuis)

The Stadhuis of Alkmaar stands on the Langestraat, a short walk from the Waagplein where the famous cheese market is held, and it is one of the finest civic buildings in North Holland. It is a national monument whose oldest part dates from the early sixteenth century, and its appearance combines late Gothic and later elements. The building is used mainly for ceremonial and heritage purposes, since the day-to-day municipal services are in a modern office building elsewhere in the city, so visitors come here to see the architecture rather than to do business.

The core of the building was constructed between 1509 and 1520, after a great fire in 1508 destroyed much of the centre of Alkmaar. The citizens rebuilt on a grand scale, and the new town hall was a sign of confidence. The facade is long and rhythmic, with eleven bays, bands of stone running through the brick, tall windows, ornate dormers and a staircase tower with eight sides. The details have the elegance of the late Gothic style in the Low Countries, and the building is among the most characteristic of its kind. A classicist wing was added in 1694, which gives the complex a more formal side and shows how tastes changed in the seventeenth century.

Alkmaar played a notable part in the Dutch revolt. In 1573 the town was besieged by Spanish forces under Don Frederik, who had just carried out the massacre at Naarden, and the citizens resisted, finally forcing the Spanish to withdraw after the dikes were opened and the land flooded. The success was a turning point in the early years of the war, summed up in the saying that the victory began at Alkmaar. The town has celebrated its liberation every year since, on the third of October, and the town hall has been the centre of civic life.

The interior is not always open to the public, but the exterior is worth seeing, and the building can be admired from the street. Close by are the other sights of the old centre. The Waag, the Drommedaris tower, the Grote or Sint-Laurenskerk, the canals and the Oudezijds Haven all lie within a short distance, and the De Hoop mill adds a different note.

The building suits visitors interested in architecture and history. Combine it with the cheese market on Friday mornings in season, a canal boat trip and a stroll around the old streets.