De Drie Hoorns

De Drie Hoorns, the Three Horns, is a historic building on the Roode Steen, the main square of Hoorn, a town on the old Zuiderzee in North Holland. The name has a double meaning, as so often in Dutch place names. It refers to the three hunting horns that appear in the coat of arms of the town of Hoorn, and the town itself is named after a horn, a reference said to go back to the shape of the harbour, which curved like an animal's horn. A building that carries the name is therefore a small piece of the town's identity, and the three horns can be seen on the town's buildings, flags and monuments.

Hoorn's identity was shaped by the sea. In the seventeenth century, the town was a major port of the Dutch Republic, the seat of one of the chambers of the Dutch East India Company and a centre of the herring and whaling trades. Its sailors travelled across the world, and one of them, Willem Schouten, gave his home town's name to the southern tip of South America, Cape Horn, in 1616. The wealth of that period is shown by the number of fine buildings that survive in the centre, with stepped and decorated gables of brick and stone, carved gable stones and large windows. The Roode Steen is the best place to see them, as it is lined with historic houses, the Waag and the Westfries Museum.

The details of De Drie Hoorns are less well documented than those of its neighbours, and it is best to ask locally about its present use. The Dutch tradition of naming inns and houses after emblems makes it likely that the building has long been associated with hospitality or trade, and in many towns a house called the Three Horns was an inn. The facade is described as being in the Dutch Renaissance style, with a stepped gable and ornamental details, and it fits among the other seventeenth-century buildings of the square.

Visitors can admire the exterior as part of a walk around the centre, and the interior may be open if it houses a cafe, a restaurant or a shop. Opening times and public access are best checked with the tourist office.

The square is a short walk from the harbour with its fortified tower, the Hoofdtoren, and from the quiet Oostereiland district. Cafes and terraces fill the pavements in summer, and the weekly market brings stalls to the square. The building suits architecture lovers, history fans and photographers, and a look takes a few minutes. Hoorn is reached by train from Amsterdam and Alkmaar.