The Moriaan and the marktstraat

This beautiful building is called the Moriaan and is said to be one of, if not the oldest brick building in the Netherlands.

Stop for a moment while I tell you more about it.

Archeological finds have shown that ‘s-Hertogenbosch was a Roman settlement until the third century. Subsequently, a large forest had arisen which had been able to grow undisturbed for about 1000 years. Around 1150 this forest was cleared and houses were built around a market square by order of Duke Hendrik I.  He had a castle built on the previously visited Pensmarkt. Shortly afterwards, he ordered the construction of two more houses. Namely ‘de Roodenburg’ and ‘de Moriaan. The ‘Roodenburg’ house was demolished at the beginning of the last century, but luckily the plans to have ‘de Moriaan’ replaced by a large modern shop building have been canceled, partly due to protests from the local population.

In February 1959 the municipality bought the property for 93,613.75 guilders, with a statement in the contract that if a treasure was found, it would be passed on to the seller. Over the centuries, many people have lived in this building with initially very wealthy noble families. The property has also been used for secret meetings, as a bishop residence, a playhouse, as barracks and even as a storage space for the market stalls.

In 1963 a major renovation was started and authentic wall works and cellar beams from the 13th century were restored or replaced. The facades have been partly reconstructed: the stepped gable and the corner turret have been rebuilt on the basis of existing building traces and historical images.

Via the newly built stairs you can visit the large reception hall and counter of the tourist office and view the building from the inside. Café Plein 79 is now housed in the cellars of De Moriaan, built with beautiful cross vaults.

Now walk along the street to the right of the Moriaan, the marktstraat, to the beginning of the burgemeester Loeffplein.