1662 - Front of town hall - Delft, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
N 52° 00.693 E 004° 21.520
31U E 593247 N 5763194
A chronogram on the town hall of the Dutch city of Delft telling the year of the repair in 1662.
Waymark Code: WM167KB
Location: Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
Date Posted: 05/27/2022
Views: 6
Delft town house is located on the western part of the market square, opposite the new church. The building with a heavy sandstone tower was built at the beginning of the 14th century, but fell victim to a fire on March 3rd in 1618, which only the tower survived. Hendrick de Keyser designed and built the new town hall between 1619 and 1621. After the "Delft Thunderclap", an explosion of nearly 30 tons of gunpowder on October 12th in 1654, that burnt down large parts of the city, the city and also the town hall had to undergo some serious repair, which took until 1662. The entrance area was remodeled again around 1850, but these changes were reversed around 1963 as part of a restoration.
Below the statue of Lady Justice are the words "Delphensivm cvria reparata" which roughly means "The Delft town hall has been repaired". Some of the letters (in the order DLIVMCVI) have been made larger, emphasizing the Roman numerals of the chronogram. The sum of the letters is 1662 and thus the year of renovation.
References:
- Rijksmonumentenregister, Entry 11901
- City hall, Lens on Leeuwenhook
- Delft, Wikipedia, section Explosion