Hulst Town Hall

The town hall (Grote Markt 21) is a building clad in Ledesteen with a landing and a slender corner tower of five sections, which merges into an octagonal brick lantern with a wooden crown. The first town hall, dating from 1455, burned down in 1485.

Rebuilding followed in 1528-'34 according to plans by Laurens Keldermans and stonemason Willem van Sassen. At the rear, against the belfry-like tower built in 1538-'40, the meat hall arose, which was later used as a weighing house (now the VVV).

In 1797 the town hall turned out to be dilapidated and in 1806 the openwork stone tower crown was demolished. In 1830-39 the building served as barracks.

Restoration and austerity followed in 1844-46. The walls were lowered and the Gothic sculptures removed.

The Doric entrance gate and the brick tower lantern date from that time. The hard stone coats of arms of Hulst and Flanders (1663) come from the tower of the St. Willibrordus Church, which was destroyed by fire in 1876.

The town hall was restored in 1949-51 under the direction of G.M. Sturm and H. de Lussanet de la Sablonière.

The new wooden tower crown was designed by E.A.

Canneman.

In the tower there is a room with a star vault and a cachot recovered during the restoration. In the council chamber there are several portraits of princes from the house of Van Nassau and a painting of Hulst fortress from 1628 by Cornelis de Vos.

Here is also the Burgerhuys clock (1643), cast by Johannes Burgerhuys. The old main guard next to the town hall was replaced in 1873 by a school.

This was demolished in 1989 for the construction of the new municipal office.

Source: ensie.nl/monumenten-in-zeeland/het-stadhuis-in-hulst

The first town hall was destroyed by Ghent residents in 1452, so that a new one was built in 1455. Emperor Maximilian I granted the double eagle to his imperial city, which crowns the spire in 2012. This building was set on fire in 1485 by Hulstenaars during their fight against Ghent. The current town hall was built from 1528-1534, made of limestone. It has a characteristic, square, slender hall tower of five sections with an octagonal brick openwork crown. The facade has a landing.
(Wikipedia)