A peek inside the town hall

Admire the council chambers and ceremony room

The monumental town hall has stood at the Markt in Den Bosch since the 14th century. Countless wedding couples have posed for photos on the steps here. If you’re spending the day in Den Bosch, be sure to glance upwards as you walk past the town hall: every half hour, in an alcove in the façade - just below the city crest - you’ll see the little carillon horses going around. Now almost 350 years old, these knights perform their own mock battle.

Visit the town hall with a guide
The interior of the town hall is also well worth seeing. On entering the impressive hall, you’ll marvel at murals by the painter, Antoon Derkinderen. Join the DagjeDenBosch.com guide for a look at the beautiful old council chambers with their centuries-old tapestries, and the ceremony room whose walls are decorated in Cuir de Cordoue gilded leather. An absolute must-see!

Unique phenomenon: the meridian
During your visit to the town hall, you’ll also enter the Oranjezaal - or Orange room. If you look carefully, you’ll see a thin strip of copper that runs over the wooden floor. From the mid-19th century, this meridian was used as a calibration system for synchronising the clocks. When the sun beamed through a small opening in the stained-glass window and hit the copper wire, the time was exactly 12pm. Clever, hey?

A meeting of old and new
Despite considerable past renovations, the town hall is still full of history. The construction of the ultramodern administrative centre in natural stone and glass is a striking architectonic addition. The tour takes 90 minutes, regardless of the possibility of one of the rooms being temporarily occupied.