Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Gouda

Gouda received city rights in the year of 1272. In 1448-1450 the town hall was built. Now it is considered being one of the oldest Gothic town halls in the Netherlands. The building was designed by architect Jan III Keldermans, from the famous Flemish Keldermans family of architects, who were also responsible for several other city halls and churches around the Netherlands and Flanders. In the summer of 1438, a major city fire caused serious damage to the town hall. The city council decided that the new town hall should be free and chose the market square - then still a swampy peat bog - as the new location. The town hall is located on the Market Square, one of the largest market squares in the Netherlands. Over the past centuries, the town hall has been altered and rebuilt many times. It was originally surrounded by a moat, which was filled up in 1603. In the 17th century, a staircase was added to the town hall, leading to the building itself and to the balcony on the rear façade. The town hall - still the landmark of Gouda - can be visited during weekdays given that there are no wedding ceremonies.

De Goudse Waag (Gouda Weighing House) is a monumental historic building dating from 1668, designed by the well-known Dutch architect Pieter Post. Gouda was an important transit point between Amsterdam and Rotterdam. All goods weighing more than 10 pounds were weighed at De Goudse Waag , and duty then needed to be paid on them. The ground floor of De Goudse Waag - formerly used to weigh cheese - nowadays houses the tourist information center of Gouda. Further on it is home of the Cheese and Crafts Museum. Here, one can learn about the building’s history, the products weighed and traded, and how cheese is made.

The Molen ‘t Slot (Mill on the Castle) is situated near the old town centre of Gouda and along the river Holland IJssel. The mill stands proudly on his spot since the year of 1832, replacing an earlier octagonal mill which was destroyed in 1831 by fire. It is however the third mill at this spot. The history goes even further back. The first mill was built (1581) on the foundations of a castle. The name ‘t Slot refers to the castle of the 'Heeren van ter Gouw', which was demolished in1577. Flour mill 't Slot is a so called smock mill. A smock mill is a type of windmill that consists of a sloping, horizontally weather boarded tower. It is topped with a cap that rotates to bring the sails into the wind. The mill is open for visitors when the sails are turning.