Dutch term: metselaar

Etching of a bricklayer

Metselaar. Etching by Jan and Caspar Luyken, circa 1690. Image credit: Geneaknowhow

A metselaar is a bricklayer. Since the Netherlands doesn’t have many quarries, and all the more mud, brick was and is a popular building material.

Brick has been used for buildings since the Middle Ages, first for churches and later for houses too. To prevent fire, many chartered towns issued ordinances that required people to use brick instead of wood or wattle and daub to build their houses.

About Yvette Hoitink

Yvette Hoitink, CG®, QG™ is a professional genealogist in the Netherlands. She holds the Certified Genealogist credential from the Board for Certification of Genealogists and has a post-graduate diploma in Family and Local History from the University of Dundee. She has been doing genealogy for over 30 years and helps people from across the world find their ancestors in the Netherlands. Read about Yvette's professional genealogy services.

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