Rotterdam - Coolsingel

The main street of the central area of Rotterdam on the right bank of the Maas is the Coolsingel. At the near end of this wide street, on the left, stands the Town Hall (Stadhuis), built between 1914 and 1920 in Dutch Renaissance style, with a handsome tower (beautiful carillon) and a richly decorated interior. In front of it is a statue of the great international lawyer Hugo Grotius, who was Grand Pensionary of Rotterdam from 1576 to 1586. Opposite the Town Hall, in Stadhuisplein, is a war memorial designed by Mari Andriessen. Farther down the Coolsingel, on the left, is the Bijenkorf ("Beehive") department store (by Marcel Breuer, 1958). In front of it can be seen a 26m/85ft high work of sculpture, "Construction" (1957) - popularly