In 1638 the city council of Leiden decided to build an inspection hall for woollen cloth: the Laecken-Halle (nowadays named Lakenhal). Architect Arent van 's-Gravesande was commissioned to design a classicist city hall. The hall should reflect the quality and international reputation of the fabrics that made Leiden so rich in the 17th century. Three years later was the official opening of the Laecken-Halle.

For centuries it served as an inspection hall for woolen cloth fabrics that were exported from Leiden all over the world. The original front of the building is still completely intact, but a lot has changed on the inside over time.
Due to the decline of the textile industry, the Laecken-Halle lost its function as hall of inspection for cloth and in 1820 it was taken into use as the Hall of Manufactures and cholera hospital.

Since 1874 it houses Museum De Lakenhal: the municipality museum of Leiden, exhibiting arts, crafts and history of Leiden.