Blauwesteen

BLAUWESTEEN

(Blue Stone):
in the center of the Breestraat, an old Roman road that marked the northern boundary of the Roman Empire; the Blue Stone was the place of justice in early medieval Leiden. Thieves had fingers cut off; faulty products were burned here. There was also a stone pedestal on the front of the town hall where gossips and scolds had to stand for a set length of time to be jeered at.

Looking farther down the Breestraat, the 17th-cent. house with pillars and carving is the "Vergulden Turk."