Franeker Town Hall

Franeker is a small town in Friesland with a great deal of history for its size. It was one of the Frisian Eleven Cities, it had its own university from 1585 until Napoleon closed it in 1811, and it is the home of the Eise Eisinga Planetarium. The town hall, the Stadhuis, is part of that story. It was built at the end of the sixteenth century, in the years when Franeker was growing into a regional centre, and its late Dutch Renaissance style with a decorated front, stepped gable and tall windows makes it one of the best-looking buildings on the main street.

The building is a good example of how Dutch towns of that period expressed civic pride. A town hall was the seat of the mayor and aldermen, the place where the council met, where justice was handed out and where the town's business was done, and it was usually the most carefully designed building in the centre. In Franeker the facade is the main attraction. The proportions, the carved details and the tower that rises above the roof are best appreciated from the street, and the square in front of it has long been used for markets and community events.

Visitors should not expect much of the interior. Like many town halls it is still used for official purposes, and access is often limited to certain days or to guided tours, so it is best to treat it as a building to see from outside and to ask locally if you hope to go in. It is a favourite subject for photographers, especially in the late afternoon when the sun lights the front, and it makes a natural starting point for a walk around the old centre.

The neighbours are the real draw. The Royal Eise Eisinga Planetarium is a short walk away. Eisinga was a wool carder and amateur astronomer who built a model of the solar system on the ceiling of his living room between 1774 and 1781, and it is regarded as the oldest working planetarium in the world. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2023. The Martini Church, the large late medieval church with a leaning tower, stands nearby, and the quiet streets and canals around them are pleasant for an afternoon.

The town hall suits architecture lovers, history enthusiasts and visitors on a day trip through Friesland who want to see a small town with real character. Allow fifteen minutes for the building and a couple of hours for the town.