Leyden - Blauwe Steen

From the Visbrug, Maarsmansteeg runs southwest to Breestraat. At the intersection with Pieterskerkkoorsteeg and Meermansteeg, set in the paving, is a large hexagonal blue stone, the Blauwe Steen, which in 1321 marked the central point in the town. Here in the Middle Ages criminals condemned to death by the municipal council were executed (those condemned by the Count being executed in front of the Gravensteen), and here too cloth found to be of poor quality was burned.