Grote Markt, Haarlem

Al costado occidental de la Grote Markt se encuentra el Ayuntamiento del siglo XIV, que creció grandemente en los siglos que siguieron, incluyendo un balcón desde el que los fallos judiciales se daban a conocer. El Salón de los Condes contiene pinturas del siglo XV y normalmente está abierto en horario de oficina.

The town hall has its origins in a medieval court of the counts of Holland; for a long time Haarlem was the second city of Holland (of Holland, not of The Netherlands), after Dordrecht. Several later rebuilts resulted in the current look, an attractive mixture of styles.

The first thing you must see is the townsquare of Haarlem 'Grote Markt'. It has beautiful buildings surrounding it like the Bavo church, the cityhall and the Vleeshal and Vischhal. In summer you also can sit at the market on a terrace. Sometimes the funfair, the market or other activities (like the culinair festival) take place on the 'Grote Markt'.

Visit the Verweyhal, also a part of the Frans Halsmuseum. You can see the modern art-collection of the museum. This building is named by the impressionist Kees Verwey (1900-1995), of course there
is a lot of work from hin to see. Also some work to see from the famous 'Cobra'-group.
I also didn't had the time to visit but I'm sure it will be the first thing to do when I visit Haarlem again...........

Visit the 'Vleeshal'. It's build in 1603 and now also a part of the Frans Halsmuseum. I didn't had the time to visit it yet but the outside is also very beautiful.
Now it's a building for expositions.....

The city hall of Haarlem is located on the Grote Markt opposite the St. Bavo church. The oldest parts of the building were built way back in 1250!! You can only visit the Stadhuis when you made an appointment in advance.

Grote Markt
It's the historical kernel of the city. It's surrounded by Gild houses as it's usual for Medieval town building traditions.

The day I was in Haarlem there was a contemporary market on the old Market square, though all these tents prevented me of taking proper pics ;)))

Raadhuis
It stands on the very place from where the history of the city began (Pfalzgraf castle). It was reconstructed several times and as the result you can see Reinassance loggia on the left wing.

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We were lucky to visit Haarlem on a Saturday. So we could stroll through a great and colourful market.

There are regular open market days on the Markt. A variety of goods can be found. I found flower bulbs to bring home from here. I still can enjoy my trit to the Netherlands every summer.