'Merkwaardige Middeleeuwsche kelders': de geschiedenis van Breestraat 113 en Leiden

Hartog, E. den; Nijland, T.G.; Orsel, E.D.

In Leiden, Breestraat 113 is noteworthy because of its rather unusual medieval cellars, that were rediscovered in 1907 and restored in 1953. These so-called cellars used to be part of a rather smart stone building with ground floor hall. What is more, this hall was decorated with capital sculpture, made of a limestone quarried at Norroy-lès-Pont-à-Mousson, a village between Nancy and Dijon in France. Norroy limestone was a material favoured by the Romans, and was not quarried during the medieval period, implying that the capital was carved from reused Roman material. The style suggests they were imports ftrom Cologne. The raising of the street-level of the Breestraat by two metres at some time between 1225 and 1300 is why the one-time hall has now a cellar-like appearance. At the rear, a more or less square brick building volume was added later in the thirteenth century, consisting of four bays with a central column supporting a capital with a more Gothic appearance than the two...Show more

In Leiden, Breestraat 113 is noteworthy because of its rather unusual medieval cellars, that were rediscovered in 1907 and restored in 1953. These so-called cellars used to be part of a rather smart stone building with ground floor hall. What is more, this hall was decorated with capital sculpture, made of a limestone quarried at Norroy-lès-Pont-à-Mousson, a village between Nancy and Dijon in France. Norroy limestone was a material favoured by the Romans, and was not quarried during the medieval period, implying that the capital was carved from reused Roman material. The style suggests they were imports ftrom Cologne. The raising of the street-level of the Breestraat by two metres at some time between 1225 and 1300 is why the one-time hall has now a cellar-like appearance. At the rear, a more or less square brick building volume was added later in the thirteenth century, consisting of four bays with a central column supporting a capital with a more Gothic appearance than the two capitals from the front hall.

This book deals with the history of Breestraat 113, the analysis of the stones used and other aspects of the building's materiality, the dating of the capitals, and the significance and former usage of the building.

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'Merkwaardige Middeleeuwsche kelders' de geschiedenis van Breestraat 113 en Leiden