Graft town hall
In a number of villages in the heart of Noord-Holland, such as Jisp, De Rijp, Graft and Grootschermer, there are remarkable 17th-century town halls, which have many similarities in their construction and decoration. These town halls were built during a period of great prosperity and were not only used as a meeting room for the village administration, but also served to give the village and the village administration more prestige.
Raadhuis Graft can be visited between mid-April and mid-October on Sunday afternoons from 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm and in July and August from Wednesday to Sunday from 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm.
Museum In 't Houten Huis organizes the temporary exhibitions at the town hall.
Dutch Renaissance
The town hall was built by an unknown master builder in the so-called Dutch Renaissance style. Characteristic for this are the combined use of brick and natural stone, the exuberant decoration with decorative brickwork, blocks of sandstone, facing bricks and sculpted figures. The town hall was originally used for meetings and justice, not as a workspace. Only in the French period did the municipal authorities in the Netherlands get more functions and more civil servants, and would the town hall be split up into smaller workspaces.
The impoverishment of Graft in the 19th century resulted in a neglect of the building. Around 1900 the top façade on the street side had disappeared, the bottom windows were bricked up and demolition did not seem far away (see image). Fortunately, the tide turned and the town hall was built in 1909/1910 by architect J.F.L. Frowein must be carefully restored. The building was redesigned in 1928/1929; the rotted beams and key pieces were replaced during this restoration.
The interior
In the hall a memorial stone commemorates the restoration led by Frowein. In the downstairs room, used among other things by the municipal authority, there is a boiler room with a so-called net vault. Together with the cross beam placed in front of it (the so-called raveling or ravel beam), this supports the fire place on the first floor. There is a storage place in a noticeable place between the beams.
The council chamber with the public gallery is located on the upper floor. The 17th-century ball-footed table is original; Frowein has carefully reconstructed the paneling and other furniture from old examples. The heavy wooden pillars in the wall (especially clearly visible in the hall by the stairs) show that this floor is a mixture of a wooden and a stone construction. This mix has been chosen not to make the building unnecessarily heavy.
While wooden warehouses were built, the town hall, just like the church, was decorated in stone and elaborately decorated. The town hall often stood next to the church: a central place, which also made clear that spiritual and secular authority complement each other.
The exterior of the town hall
The characteristic combination of brick with natural stone decorations has already been mentioned. The three top facades are striking; these are separated from the lower façades by friezes made of decorative brickwork. At the west and south façade, these friezes are closed off by lion heads.
On top of the top gables are shield-bearing lions with the arms of the then reigning governor, Prince Maurits. On the stairs of the west facade are images of Justitia (justice) and Prudentia (caution). They were a hallmark of good governance. A little lower in the west facade we see a facing brick; according to tradition, this Prince suggests Maurits. The winged angel heads above the windows are striking; such cups were previously used by the Amsterdam architect Hendrick de Keyser.