Hoorn - West Frisian Museum / Superb Westfries Museum

(Local Name: Westfries Museum) Opposite the Weigh House is the Proostenhuis (1632), once the meeting place of the Council of West Friesland, which is now occupied by the West Frisian Museum (Westfries Museum). The Council (Gecommiteerde Raden van het Noorderkwartier) consisted of representatives (kommitierten) of the west Frisian towns of Alkmaar, Edam, Enkhuizen, Hoorn, Medemblik, Monnickendam and Purmerend. The Proostenhuis has a richly decorated stone facade (rebuilt 1908-11) with the arms of the seven west Frisian towns, West Friesland and Orange. The museum displays a collection of material (16th-18th C.) on the history of the town and surrounding area, with numerous group portraits of marksmen's guilds.