Gouda City Hall

Gouda lies in South Holland, where the river Gouwe meets the Hollandse IJssel, and it is famous for cheese, candles, pottery and a market square of exceptional beauty. At its centre stands the Stadhuis, the city hall, which dates from the middle of the fifteenth century and is generally considered the oldest Gothic town hall in the Netherlands. It is not a large building, but its proportions, its decoration and its position in the middle of a huge cobbled square give it an air of fairy-tale elegance, and it is the most photographed monument of the town.

The city had rights granted in 1272, and by the fifteenth century it was prosperous from trade in beer, cloth and cheese. A new town hall was a statement of civic pride, built to replace an earlier one. The result is a building of pale stone with a steep roof, corner turrets, pointed windows and rich decoration, and the facade facing the square carries statues of the counts and countesses of Holland in niches, and a double external staircase. The building stands on the open Markt with no other structures around it, so it can be seen from every side, a rare thing in a Dutch town. A carillon in the roof plays tunes at set times, and on the east side, a clock with moving figures draws a crowd of onlookers.

The square comes alive on market days. The traditional cheese market, held in the summer months, shows how farmers' cheeses were weighed, inspected and sold, with merchants clapping hands in the old style of bargaining to agree a price. The city hall is also a popular venue for weddings, which means visitors can often see couples on the steps. In December, the candlelit evening known as Kaarsjesavond turns the square magical, when the lights in the building are turned off and the facade is lit by candles.

The interior can be visited at certain times, and details of access should be checked with the tourist office, as the building is in daily use for official functions. The outside is free and open at any time. The surrounding streets have cafes, shops selling pottery, pipes and stroopwafels, and the Waag, the old weigh house of the seventeenth century, stands at the edge of the square.

The nearby Sint-Janskerk, the longest church in the country, is famous for its enormous stained-glass windows, and Museum Gouda explains the town's history. The hall suits architecture lovers and photographers, and a visit takes half an hour. Gouda is a short train ride from Utrecht, Rotterdam and The Hague.