The (Head Watch, or "Civic guard headquarters") is a historically important . It was built in the 13th century and it is considered the oldest building in Haarlem, Netherlands. It has served as a printshop for Coornhert, as a temporary council meeting location across from City Hall and even as a jail. It is located on the across from the St. Bavochurch. History From 1250 to around 1350 the building served as the first city hall of Haarlem. After the current city hall was built across the square, various important families lived in the house. The lower part of the building was used as a printing shop, a general store and for storing beer. Though it had lost its official function, as a large and imposing building in medieval Haarlem, it continued to be used for council meetings whenever the Count of Holland was visiting. A plaque above the door states: This text in old Dutch says that whenever the Count "planted his court here on the sand" (meaning when he stayed in the large "Gravenzaal" or Count's hall across the square), this honorable building was put to use as the courthouse. The humanist Dirck Volckertszoon Coornhert once ran a printshop from the basement in the 16th century. The baroque facade is newer and dates from circa 1650. On May 17, 1755 the building was bought by the municipality to serve as headquarters for the civic guard (). This is the reason for the building's current name. Each evening and morning the gates of the city would be unlocked by the militia who lived here. Town Jail Until the Spaarne prison was built on the east side of the river (known as the ) in 1899, there were a few jail rooms upstairs here. Before 1755, prisoners were kept in the cellar of the city hall across the street, which was often quite damp, but open to the street level and allowed some exchange with townsfolk in the rear alleyway. After sentencing, prisoners received public humiliation though corporal punishment such as branding, eye gouging, or execution, but for minor crimes they were sent to the Tuchthuis, the local workhouse. Coornhert wrote the first treatise on criminals and pleaded for more humane treatment. The latter 17th century saw some reforms and a restriction in public executions, which came to be seen as barbaric. After 1755, keeping the prisoners upstairs significantly improved