The City Hall in Haarlem is the center of the city's government.

History

Around 1100 a wooden building was constructed on the location of the current Gravenzaal of the City Hall. Traces of this building were found in 1955.

After large fires in 1347 and 1351, William II, Count of Holland donated the remains of the Gravenzaal to the city's municipality. A new building was built there.

Inside

A large number of paintings can be found inside the building. They depict the various counts of Holland, starting from Dirk I to Maximilian from Austria. In the Middle Ages these paintings were hanging in the Carmelieten Cloister in Haarlem; they were painted between 1486 and 1491. In 1570 it is mentioned that the paintings are hanging in the City Hall; possibly they were moved there in 1566 to protect them from the iconoclastic riots.