The history of the Prison gate Museum stretches back seven centuries, no wonder he is in the list of the 100 most important historical monuments of the Netherlands.

In 1280 the gate on the buitenhof were the main entrance to the castle, which is now known as the Binnenhof. 1428 gates were used as a place of confinement for debtors or criminals awaiting trial.

A hundred years later were attached to the gate of the new camera and the courthouse. Until the XVII century, imprisonment was not considered a punishment as such - punishment of fines, expulsion, corporal punishment or the death penalty.

There were well-known historical figures: Cornelis de Witt, accused of plotting against William of orange, and writer, scientist and philosopher Dirk Volquartsen Coornhert. The prison has existed for 400 years, but by 1828 the prisoners out of here by now. Twice there have been proposals for the demolition of this building in 1853 and in 1873, fortunately, never going to happen, and from 1882 Prison gates became a Museum. Some parts of the Museum can be visited only with a guide.

In the adjacent building there is a Gallery of William V – art gallery, founded in 1774 by William V, Prince of Orange. Since 2010, visitors can get to the gallery via a spiral staircase that connects the two buildings. The collection, which is presented now there is a modern reconstruction of 1774, which was also located in the upper floor of the house. The paintings are closely hung on the walls, as was customary in the eighteenth century. The paintings were donated to the Museum the Mauritshuis in 1822, which is the formal owner of the paintings.