Deventer Market Square

The Brink is the main square of Deventer, an old Hanseatic city on the IJssel river in Overijssel, and it has been a gathering place for centuries. It is a broad, irregular open space surrounded by buildings of different ages, with terraces and market stalls, and in the middle stands the Waag, or Weighing House, one of the oldest and most impressive buildings in the city. The square is the best place to start a visit, and its character as a working marketplace has never entirely disappeared.

The Waag dates from the sixteenth century and was built in 1528 to weigh goods for the city's trade. It is a tall, stepped-gable building with a tower, and its basement and upper floors have been used for many purposes over the centuries. It now houses the Museum De Waag, which tells the story of Deventer as a trading town and member of the Hanseatic League, with displays on the merchants, the guilds and the products that passed through. Among the more curious exhibits is a painting of the Last Supper by Han van Meegeren, the forger who was born in Deventer and who fooled the art world in the 1930s and 1940s with fake Vermeers before being exposed after the war.

Deventer has other claims to fame. It was a centre of the Modern Devotion, a religious movement of the late Middle Ages that stressed personal piety, and the humanist Erasmus attended school here. The city is known for its gingerbread, Deventer koek, a spiced cake that has been made for centuries and is sold in local bakeries. It hosts the largest book market in Europe on the first Sunday of August, when thousands of stalls fill the streets, and in December the Dickens Festival turns the centre into a Victorian scene with costumed actors.

The square lies close to the other sights of the city. The Lebuinuskerk, a large Gothic church, rises beside it, and the IJssel riverfront promenade is a short walk away. The remains of the city walls, the Bijzondere Collectie, the Hanzehof and the Deventer Light Festival add variety. A cafe terrace on the Brink is a pleasant place to rest and watch people.

The square suits history lovers, shoppers and anyone who enjoys atmosphere. Opening hours for the museum are limited on Mondays, and it accepts the national museum card. Note that Museum De Fundatie, listed in the sights, is in Zwolle rather than in Deventer.