Description of the attraction
The House of the City Guard is one of the oldest buildings, as well as an important historical and architectural monument in the Dutch city of Haarlem. The building is located in the central square of the Grote Markt and is one of the most famous local attractions.
The house of the city guards in Haarlem was built around 1250 and in the first years was used as a count's residence during the count's visits to Kennemerland (a historical region in the Netherlands), and then the building became the home of the Haarlem city hall and performed this function until the second half of the 14th century. … After the new town hall was built, the building was transformed into a residential building where eminent residents of Haarlem lived, although it was sometimes used for city council meetings during the visits of the Count of Holland to Haarlem. At the same time, the basement floor of the house alternately housed a printing house, a department store and beer cellars. Around the middle of the 17th century, a large-scale reconstruction of the building was carried out, while the stonework of the 13th century was only partially preserved, the facade of the building, which we see today, belongs to the same period.
In May 1775, the building was officially acquired by the city authorities of Haarlem and began to be used as the headquarters for the city guards (in fact, that is why the building eventually got its name), as well as as a temporary prison in Haarlem. The location for the headquarters was chosen quite well, since directly opposite the building across the road was the Church of St. city.
The building was used as a "house of the city guard" until 1919, after which the Historical Association of Haarlem settled here.
