The Stadhuis, or city hall, was built right in the center of the city to serve as the city's administrative center. It was by far the grandest civic building ever built, which is why it caught Napoleon's eye. When he took over Holland after about a three hour war, he made his brother the king and converted the city hall into the royal palace. That entailed boarding up the enormous rooms used for public function, like those shown here. The biggest room is the Citizen's Hall, where the citizens (well, the rich ones anyway) would gather to debate important decisions. The smaller, more ornate one is the Burgomaster's Hall (yes, like the Burgermeister Meisterburger that some of us remember from Frosty the Snowman), where the city council governed. The king just used the top floor of the building, and ripped down the medieval weighing station that sat opposite the building for centuries because it blocked his view. It's still used as a royal palace, although the current queen hates it and always stays at her palace in the Hague. This is understandable, since the palace is just plopped in the middle of the huge Dam square, where hooligans and drunks party and puke all night long, a decidedly unroyal ambience.