De Goudse Waag

De Goudse Waag, the Gouda Weigh House, stands on the large market square of Gouda, facing the Gothic town hall across the cobbles, and it is one of the finest buildings of its kind in the Netherlands. It was built in 1668 to a design by Pieter Post, a leading architect of the Dutch Golden Age, who also worked on the Mauritshuis and on palaces for the House of Orange. The Waag is in the classical style that Post helped to establish in the seventeenth century, with a symmetrical facade of brick and pale stone, a pediment decorated with a relief showing the weighing of cheese, and a stately central entrance. Its dignified elegance is a deliberate contrast to the more fanciful Gothic look of the town hall opposite.

The purpose of a weigh house was to ensure honest trade. In a town whose wealth came from cheese and other goods, the weighing of the product was a matter of public regulation. Cheeses and other heavy goods were brought to the Waag, weighed on large scales and taxed, and the town earned money from the fees. Gouda's cheese market was one of the busiest in the country, and the farmers who brought their round cheeses to the square sold them by negotiating with traders in a traditional ritual of clapping hands. The Waag stood at the centre of that process, and its busy halls were a place of commerce for centuries.

Today the building is used as a museum about the cheese trade and the crafts of Gouda. The displays explain how cheese is made, how the weighing and trading worked and what role the product played in the life of the town, with historical scales, tools and illustrations. Other exhibits look at the other products for which Gouda was known, such as candles, clay pipes, pottery and syrup waffles, and the museum encourages visitors to understand the ways in which these goods shaped the economy. An audio tour provides additional information. In the summer the cheese market takes place on the square outside, and the museum is a good place to learn about it beforehand. The tourist office is also housed in the building, which makes it a handy first stop.

The Waag suits families, food lovers and architecture fans, and a visit takes about an hour. Opening days and prices vary with the season, so check before going, and note that some museum cards are not accepted. The Sint-Janskerk with its famous stained-glass windows and Museum Gouda are a short walk away. Gouda is easily reached by train from Utrecht, The Hague and Rotterdam.