In the program The Lost City we go to a different place in Haarlem every time to see how it has changed over time. Today we are at the Vleeshal on the Grote Markt. Here the butchers, as butchers used to be called, sold their goods. Although judges monitored the quality of the meat, it was always a question of what kind of food you got home.
It is a busy place in front of the Vleeshal in Haarlem. It is a warm summer day and tourists take a breather on the steps of the building. Here you can sit comfortably in the shade. “It’s actually no different than when the Vleeshal was just built,” says Marrigje Rikken of the Frans Hals Museum, of which the Vleeshal is a part. “Then it also attracted so much attention.”
Look, don’t buy
The Vleeshal was built at the beginning of the seventeenth century, to a design by the well-known architect Lieven de Key. “In 1605 the butchers complained”, Rikken continues her story, “that a lot of people came walking in who didn’t buy anything. There was then a fine of six stuivers. If you wanted to go in, that was allowed, but only to buy something.”
It was also not desirable to bring a dog. If you took the animal inside anyway, you risked an extra fine.
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In the Warmoesstraat, formerly known as the Vleeshouwersstraat, there had been a meat hall before, but it had become too small. A large number of butchers could no longer find a place inside and they therefore displayed their wares outside. “There were terrible complaints about that,” says Marrigje Rikken. “In the winter it was terribly cold and in the summer much too hot, like now. Moreover, there were an awful lot of flies, all of which came to the meat.”
Not skimping on costs
The guild of meat cutters therefore asked the municipality to build a new meat hall. The city council was open to this, especially since the butchers were willing to pay more rent. In this way the costs incurred could be recouped.
No expense was spared during construction. City architect Lieven de Key had made two designs in advance, with the city council opting for the luxurious version, with rich decorations. When you get closer, you see that many stones have been worked.
Hidden works of art
“Now you actually see that much less well,” says Rikken. She points us to one of the stones. “If you look closely you can see all kinds of landscape motifs here. It was really all about the details. And the building was painted. All those natural stones were painted white and yellow and the bricks were dead head red. So that must have had a completely different effect than it has now.”
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Carved heads of oxen and rams hang from the facade. This made it clear to everyone what was being traded here. But not everyone could afford the expensive meat. That is why the Vishal was located next to the Bavo Church, for people with a less well-filled wallet.
Fish house
Next to the Vleeshal is the so-called Vishuisje. Marrigje Rikken: “It dates from the same time as the Vleeshal, built around 1600. From the beginning it was used by fishwives to drink coffee. It now looks very seventeenth century again, but it looked very different for a long time. It also fell into disrepair at one point, just like the Vleeshal. Then it was completely renovated and the historic facade was brought back.”
“And I also know of pigs’ heads that they looked under the tongue to see if there were any worms under it”
Stink and spoilage
If you look at the books, you get the impression that it must have smelled very bad here in the seventeenth century, something that Marrigje Rikken agrees with. “That must have applied to both the Vishuisje, the Vleeshal and the Vishal. That was something that came with it. Now the meat was really inspected to see if it was not spoiled: when it came in and later with random tests. But with hot temperatures, the meat spoiled very quickly, of course.”
But how was it judged, you wonder. Was it smelled? We can’t imagine it now, but that was how it went. “And I also know about pig heads,” Rikken adds, “that they looked under the tongue to see if there were any worms under it. Apparently that was the first thing you could see.” As long as there were no worms to be seen, you could eat the meat with confidence.
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Inside the Vleeshal, preparations are now being made for a new exhibition. The hall is now used for completely different things than before. “From 1951 this hall has been used as an exhibition space. It started with a large exhibition about Rembrandt’s drawings and etchings. From 1992 it has become a whole museum complex, so with the Vishuisje and the Verweyhal.”
Forty benches fit in the ground floor of the Vleeshal. A bench was a stall on which the meat was presented. Such a stable could be rented by the butchers.
Special entrance
The first floor was also a space that could be rented. “But it is not entirely clear to whom it was rented out,” says Marrigje Rikken. “There was also a separate entrance to it, at the back of the building. This floor had a different function, so it didn’t need the height of the ground floor.”
To end our tour in a special way, we can go outside through this special entrance, which is therefore normally no longer accessible to the public.
Look here for more episodes of The Lost City. This was the last episode of this season.
