Attention stone - town hall Baardwijk

City Hall Baardwijk (1879-1921)

Until 1879, the town council of Baardwijk met in a residence, often owned by the mayor. Architect M.H. Verhoeckx designed the town hall, following the example of the town hall in Haarsteeg, with field watchman's house, two cells of custody and a room for the fire hose. The names of Mayor Hendrikus Loeff and the council members who commissioned the construction were enshrined in two gable stones. The amalgamation of the municipalities of Baardwijk, Besoijen and Waalwijk in 1922 made the town hall redundant. From 1924 the council chamber was used as an antiquities room. In April 1931 the town hall was demolished, thus the symbol of its own identity disappeared. People used 7,000 stones from the demolition to build a music kiosk in the form of a niche at the same location. The kiosk was demolished in 1954 to make way for the community center.