Town hall of Dordrecht Netherlands

Dordrecht Town Hall is a town hall built by Flemish merchants in 1383 in the town of Dordrecht, in the Dutch province of Zuid-Holland. The Flemish merchants used the building as a market hall for trading in cloth.

The bells hanging in the building were made by Pieter van Dormer en Sloterdijck in 1449 and later some by Gregorius Waghevens in 1514.

Since 1544 the building has been in use by the city's administrators. The square in front of the Town Hall was laid out in 1679; the façade and staircase with lions date from the 19th century. The lions were made by IJzergieterij L.J. Enthoven en Co, 's-Gravenhage 1841.[1]

In 1572, Adriaan van Blijenburg made the decision to choose the Staatse side during the Eighty Years' War in this building, after which the Taking of Dordrecht (1572) became a fact.

In April 1904, the then famous Harry Houdini performed his act of enthrallment in the Town Hall for a number of high-ranking local officials, including Mayor Alfred Rudolph Zimmerman. Houdini was then on tour through the Netherlands with his circus.

In 1975 the city council moved to the city office on the Spuiboulevard and the building is used for events, such as wedding ceremonies.