City Hall of Torhout

The City Hall of Torhout was the residence of the mayor and the bench of aldermen during their meetings up until the completion of the new City Hall in 2014. It is located on the market in the center of Torhout, West Flanders, Belgium.
Torhout received its city privileges in 1183–1184 from Count Philip I of Flanders. At this time the city was already growing in size, and, thanks to the newly received privileges, a City Hall could be built. The first City Hall was built on exactly the same place as the current one, but in 1184 it was located near the Cloth Hall, the Belfry, the church, the wool market and the cloth market. The City Hall stood firm until Torhout was attacked in 1578 during the religious troubles of the late 16th century. The church's interior and archive documents from the City Hall were already burned and destroyed by the Geuzen during the Beeldenstorm of 1566, but this time most of the medieval buildings, including the church, the City Hall, the Cloth Hall and the hospital, were lost.

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