Cloth hall

Sukiennice in Kraków

Gewandhaus in Zwickau

A cloth hall or linen hall (German: Gewandhaus, Polish: Sukiennice, French: Halle aux draps, Dutch: Lakenhal, Swedish: Saluhallen) is a historic building located in the centre of main marketplaces of European towns. They contained trading stalls, particularly for the selling of cloth as well as leather, wax and salt, including exotic imports such as spices and silk. They were built from mediaeval times until the 17th century.

In Poland, the most famous example of an existing cloth hall building is the Sukiennice in Kraków, rebuilt in 1555 in the Renaissance style,^[1] though they also formerly existed in Poznań (at the Old Market Square), in Wrocław (at the site of the street today called ul. Sukiennice), and in Toruń. Examples of German Gewandhäuser can be found in the towns of Brunswick, Zwickau and Leipzig (the last now rebuilt as the Gewandhaus concert hall).

Examples in Belgium include the Ypres Lakenhal, as well as those of Bruges, Leuven and Tournai. The Linen-hall at Leuven is in an early-Gothic style, with baroque addition, and used today as the University Hall. In Ireland, Belfast once had the White Linen Hall, and there were linen halls in other towns such as Castlebar and Clonakilty. In Stockholm, Sweden, the city's old square is anchored by a Saluhallen market hall.

See also

• Drapers' Hall, London
• Halifax Piece Hall, Halifax, England
• In Flanders Fields Museum
• White Linen Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland
• Stedelijk Museum De Lakenhal, Leiden, the Netherlands
• White Cloth Hall, Leeds, England

Notes and references

1. ^ The World's Best Squares, PPS website, Making Places, December 2005