The Townhall of Utrecht

Utrecht is not a city of public squares. The town hall looks out onto the Stadshuisbrug (Town Hall Bridge), a square so small one hardly notices it. As its name suggests, it was originally a bridge and not a square at all. But the town hall itself is no mean building. For more than 650 years the city fathers have taken politicial decisions here and passed sentences in court cases. Behind this grey neoclassical facade are houses that are sometimes even older. The medieval structure is now hardly visible anywhere except in the cellars and the entrance hall.

Utrecht, unlike most other cities, never had an entirely new town hall built especially for it. The present premises have sprouted, as it were, together with the city, so that it is not just a monument but a symbol of Utrecht's centuries' old history. On a number of occasions plans were drafted for an entirely new building, on the Stadhuisbrug and elsewhere - for instance on the Neude or the Janskerkhof (Cemetery of the St John's church). In each case it was finnaly decided to adapt the existing structure. Perhaps this is what makes the townhall a typical Utrecht phenomenon.