34-625: Meersel-Dreef is a village in the Belgian municipality of Hoogstraten in the province of Antwerp , Belgium . Meersel-Dreef is the northernmost point of Belgium , and directly borders the Netherlands. "Meersel" is derived from the Germanic "mariski", meaning land along a watercourse, or from "mari", meaning lake, and "sali", meaning house. Meersel-Dreef was originally two villages, Meersel and Dreef. They have been inhabited since at least
68-407: A debating chamber for council meetings, office space for city employees, an archive room for official documents, and some degree of fortification lest the city be attacked. The Palazzo Senatorio has been the headquarters of the municipal government of Rome since 1144, making it the oldest city hall in the world. The Cologne City Hall of 1135 is another early example. The Palazzo Pubblico of
102-565: A Distribution postal code 26 (before 1864), and 182 with points before 1874. MEERLE opened on 18 July 1902. Postal codes since 1969: - 2320 Hoogstraten - 2321 Meer - 2322 Minderhout - 2323 Wortel - 2328 Meerle. The Vlaamse Aardbeiencross is a February cyclo-cross race held in Hoogstraten, Belgium , which is part of the Superprestige . Town hall In local government , a city hall , town hall , civic centre (in
136-422: A covered space to function as a marketplace at street level, and one or more rooms used for public or civic purposes above it. These buildings were frequently the precursors of dedicated town halls. The modern concept of the town hall developed with the rise of medieval communes . Much as a lord was based in his hall, the new councils which formed to rule the cities required a headquarters. This building needed
170-407: A regional strategic authority. The Oxford English Dictionary sums up the generic terms: County Council administrations in parts of England and Wales generally operate from a base in a building called, by analogy, a " county hall " or "shire hall". Conversely, cities that have subdivisions with their councils may have borough halls. Scottish local government in larger cities operates from
204-630: Is a distinction between the Council House and the Town Hall , a concert and meeting venue that pre-dates it. In Sheffield , the distinction is between the Town Hall , the seat of local government, and the City Hall , a concert and ballroom venue. In Leeds , the Town Hall , built in the 1850s as a seat of local government, now functions primarily as a concert, conference, and wedding venue, many of its municipal functions having moved in 1933 to
238-515: Is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp . The municipality comprises Hoogstraten, Meer , Meerle , Meersel-Dreef , Minderhout and Wortel (Meersel-Dreef includes the northernmost point in Belgium). Hoogstraten (originally Hoogstraeten ) has a population of over 20,000, and lies in Flanders at the northern border of Belgium within an enclave surrounded on three sides by
272-475: Is internationally known for its strawberries. Veiling Hoogstraten (auction) is one of the largest of the Benelux. Every year more than 30,000 tonnes of strawberries are traded there. However its main agricultural crop is the tomato. Originally Hoogstraten probably existed as a small group of thatched cottages, with perhaps one which served as an inn. Passing travellers would pay for a meal of bread and stew and
306-754: Is made between city halls and town halls. The term is also sometimes (but more rarely) used as a name in Commonwealth countries: for example, for the City Halls of Brisbane in Australia, and of Cardiff , Norwich and Bristol in the UK. City Hall in Dublin , Ireland, is another example. City Hall in London, opened in 2002, is an exceptional case, being the seat not of a conventional municipal authority, but of
340-528: Is one of the grandest examples of the medieval era, serving as a model for 19th-century town halls such as the Rathaus, Vienna . Over centuries, the idea of civic representation along with notions of urbanism and public space evolved. Even the building form grew in size and the town hall concept expanded beyond Europe to become an established institution across the world. As the functions of government generally and municipal government in particular expanded in
374-541: The Netherlands . Today, about 15% percent of the population consists of Dutch people. The town is named after the hoge straat or "high road" – a military highway that linked the old towns of Antwerp and 's-Hertogenbosch . In the town's early days, little trade existed. Villages and towns produced just enough for their own support, with little or no surplus to be 'sold' to other areas. Thus, most travelers along this high road were soldiers and armies. Today Hoogstraten
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#1732797778685408-680: The Republic of Siena and the Palazzo Vecchio of the Republic of Florence , both late-medieval town halls, date from 1297 and 1299 respectively. In each case, the large, fortified building comprises a large meeting hall and numerous administrative chambers. Both buildings are topped by tall towers, have ancient clocks against which townsfolk measured time, and have space for local archives of official documents. These features became standard for town halls across Europe. The 15th-century Brussels Town Hall , with its 96-meter (315 ft) tower,
442-516: The UK or Australia ), guildhall , or municipal building (in the Philippines ) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality . It usually houses the city or town council and at least some other arms of the local government. It also often functions as the office of the mayor (or other executive), if the relevant municipality has such an officer. In large cities,
476-404: The quality of life of the community. In many cases, "town halls" serve not only as buildings for government functions, but also have facilities for various civic and cultural activities. These may include art shows, stage performances, exhibits, and festivals. Modern town halls or "civic centres" are often designed with a great variety and flexibility of purpose in mind. In some European countries,
510-590: The "City Chambers". Other names are occasionally used. The administrative headquarters of the City of London retains its Anglo-Saxon name, the Guildhall , signifying a place where taxes were paid. In a few English cities (including Birmingham , Coventry and Nottingham ) the preferred term is "Council House": this was also true in Bristol until 2012, when the building was renamed " City Hall ". In Birmingham, there
544-409: The "town hall" (and its later variant "city hall") became synonymous with the whole building, and, synecdochically , the municipal government headquartered there. The terms "council chambers", "municipal building" or variants may be used locally in preference to "town hall" if no such large hall is present within the building. The local government may endeavor to use the building to promote and enhance
578-510: The 'Land van Hoogstraten' became a county, a title bestowed by Margaretha of Austria . The 'county' encompassed the whole the Count's land in which several villages existed. It is now marked by the boundaries of his property, one of three bulges of northern Belgium each of which are almost surrounded by The Netherlands. Between 1 September 1602 – 18 May 1604 the Mutiny of Hoogstraten took place -
612-431: The 19th and 20th centuries, the role of town and city halls became broader. Many cities established a reading room in their city hall, which later grew into a public library , typically in its own building. The central room in a town hall (the "hall" proper) began to be used for a variety of other functions; some cities installed a large pipe organ to facilitate public entertainment. In the 20th century, town halls served
646-584: The Middle Ages. The two villages grew together over time around the Capuchin monastery , which was built in 1687 near the river Mark . It was founded by Jan de Wyse , a wealthy merchant from Breda , on land donated by Maria Gabriella de Lalaing, Countess of Hoogstraten. In 1223 there was already a chapel in Meersel. In 1421 a new chapel was built by the lord of Hoogstraten. This chapel, St. Lucia Chapel,
680-460: The growth of a town. A watermill ('het Laermolen') was built outside town on the River Mark. It was already an old mill when it was first mentioned in 1391. In 1380 a Beguinage was established to house good but poor old women. A very large brick church was built in 1524, and a matching town hall next door was built in 1530 before the church was completed in 1546. By 1564, a drawing shows
714-436: The local government is often administratively expansive, and the city hall may bear more resemblance to a municipal capitol building. By convention, until the middle of the 19th century, a single large open chamber (or "hall") formed an integral part of the building housing the council and such other organs of government as supported it. The hall may be used for council meetings and other significant events. This large chamber,
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#1732797778685748-681: The longest mutiny by soldiers of the Spanish Army of Flanders during the Eighty Years' War . While Hoogstraten lies within modern Belgian Flanders, prior to 1794 the town was in the Duchy of Brabant since old Flanders reached no further North West than Antwerp . Hoogstraten remained in the hands of the Lalaing-Culemborg family until 1709 after which the town was transferred to their heir Salm-Salm family. In 1740 Hoogstraten
782-443: The new Civic Hall . Large halls called basilicas were used in ancient Rome for the administration of justice, as meeting places, and for trade. The development of the town hall as a setting for local governance meetings and decisions is historically related to the early cities in medieval Europe. The objective was to have engagement with the citizens in a public space by a representative civic authority. The oldest town hall in
816-405: The opportunity to lie on a straw pallet in an upper room for the night while their horse was tended in a stable attached to the cottage. Apart from the innkeeper who probably also sold beer, most of the men in Hoogstraten laboured for the principal landowner while their wives tended to the family. There was no natural lake or hill around which the cottages might have been grouped so the town's focus
850-406: The past, with a mixture of dependent municipalities: the villages of Meer, Meerle, Meersel-Dreef, Minderhout and Wortel, which clustered around its edges, none of these villages was more than 15 kilometers from each other. Since 1985 Hoogstraten has once more been entitled to call itself a 'stad' – a town. Klein - Seminarie (Hoogstraten) The HOOGSTRAETEN post-office opened on 1 February 1845. It used
884-427: The public as places for voting, examinations, vaccinations , disaster relief, and disseminating information through noticeboards, as well as for the more usual civil functions, festivities, and entertainments. Local councils have increasingly tended to move administrative functions into modern offices. Where new premises are designed and constructed to house local governments, the functions of an administrative office and
918-530: The term "town hall" may be used even in a city. This is often the case in the United Kingdom (examples being Manchester Town Hall and Liverpool Town Hall ), Australia ( Sydney Town Hall ), New Zealand , and elsewhere. People in some regions use the term "city hall" to designate the council offices of a municipality of city status . This is the case in North America , where a distinction
952-417: The time it would be occupied by routine administrative and judicial functions. In a smaller manor, a lord might even live in the hall with his family and retainers. Inasmuch as the manor was the primary local jurisdiction of medieval society, the hall was a place of great local importance. In the later Middle Ages or early modern period , many European market towns erected communal market halls , comprising
986-700: The town hall is the venue for the declaration of Christmas Peace , such as Turku and Porvoo in Finland and Tartu in Estonia . As symbols of local government, city, and town halls have distinctive architecture, and the buildings may have great historical significance – for example the Guildhall, London . City hall buildings may also serve as cultural icons that symbolize their cities. City Hall buildings often serve citizens in accessing government functions as well as providing vital symbolic roles for their communities. In Commonwealth countries ,
1020-483: The town still consisted of houses on both sides of the wide unpaved Vrijheid. The number of houses had grown to more than a hundred fine upstanding wooden buildings some three stories high. The church, St. Catherine's Church, formed the centre of the town. Behind the church on a slight hill a bit more than a kilometer away stood the castle of the Count. Under the ownership of Count Antoon de Lalaing (1480–1540) and his wife, Countess Elisabeth van Culemborg (1475–1555),
1054-567: The world is Palazzo Senatorio in Rome , Italy, which is established in AD 1144. In the Early Middle Ages , the great hall , a single large open chamber, was the main, and sometimes only room of the home of a feudal lord . A great variety of activities took place in the hall, which was an all-purpose space. The lord would host banquets and other grand ceremonies in the hall, but most of
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1088-399: Was elevated to a Duchy by Emperor Charles VI , but barely half a century later, during French rule, it lost its titles of 'town' and 'duchy.' The status of a town often depended on whether the townspeople were considered supporters or not, so one might infer that the area was seen to have anti-French feeling. Over two hundred years later, in 1977, Hoogstraten was combined, as it had been in
1122-632: Was inaugurated on April 28 of that year and served as an auxiliary chapel for the Church of Meerle. The chapel remains is a popular pilgrimage site. It was restored in 1935 and again in 1982, and was classified as a protected monument in 1953. The village is located on the river Mark . It lies between Galder and Groot Eisel. It is the most northerly village in Belgium. There is a De Lijn bus to Antwerp , number 600. Hoogstraten Hoogstraten ( Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɦoːxstraːtə(n)] )
1156-488: Was the main street, the "Vrijheid". There was a small river, the Mark, but given the tendency for rivers to overflow in this flat land, townspeople were wise to avoid building too close to it. The town was chartered in 1210, when it was granted the title of 'free town'. This effectively gave it a charter with certain privileges: perhaps exemption from some taxes or exemption from ecclesiastical territorial sovereignty. Both helped
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