You don't see it very often: a house name without an image.
The text IN THE COOL MAY BRANCH is chiseled into the richly decorated lintel of this house at Grote Gracht 29, which used to be a brewery. Probably also an inn, because both functions often went hand in hand.
A tavern was easily recognizable by the famous wine wreath, but also a decorated branch/tree (called the 'mei') could show the passerby that there was something to digest and he could enjoy a cool drink.
It was also the time when people sang of 'die soete tiit, die coele mey', in praise of the month of blossom.
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