Since 1528!

Museum De Waag is housed in the oldest weighing house in the Netherlands built as such. It is an icon of the city, located on Deventer's Brink.

Due to its favourable location on the river IJssel, Deventer grew into one of the most important Hanseatic cities in the Middle Ages. In 1344, the city was granted the right to hold annual fairs and from 1386 there were five annual fairs. From all over the world, traders came to Deventer to sell their wares on the Brink. Fair trade was of great importance, and for that there had to be supervision of sizing.

In 1528, De Waag was built as a weighing house. Traders brought their goods here and gaugers checked the weights and measures. The weighing fees were an important source of income for the city. The heyday for Deventer was in the 14th and 15th centuries. With the onset of the Eighty Years' War, the city lost its prominent trading position.

The late Gothic weighing house has three storeys, a stair tower, a clock and three spire turrets. In 1643, a late-Mannerist platform with three columns was built at the front. On  either side are stairs. The leaning position of the weighing house is striking. The monument is about 80 cm out of balance. This is due to the collapsed soil of the old defensive wall that ran across the Brink and on which the weighing house were built.

In the 19th century, the weighing function disappeared and the weighing building became a drawing school. For a while, it was even a telegraph station. In 1915, the building became a museum. Since then, the city's old treasures can still be viewed in this special monument.