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Royal Palace of Amsterdam

Coordinates: 52°22′23.2″N 4°53′29.0″E / 52.373111°N 4.891389°E / 52.373111; 4.891389
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Royal Palace of Amsterdam
Koninklijk Paleis van Amsterdam
Paleis op de Dam
The Royal Palace of Amsterdam in 2016
Map
Interactive fullscreen map
Former namesStadhuis op de Dam
General information
Architectural styleDutch Baroque architecture
LocationAmsterdam, Netherlands
AddressNieuwezijds Voorburg 147
Coordinates52°22′23.2″N 4°53′29.0″E / 52.373111°N 4.891389°E / 52.373111; 4.891389
Current tenantsKing Willem-Alexander
Construction started1648[1]
Completed1665
Inaugurated20 July 1655
Costƒ 8.5 million
OwnerKingdom of the Netherlands
Technical details
Floor area22,031 square metres (237,140 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect(s)Jacob van Campen, Daniël Stalpaert
Other designersArtus Quellinus, Govert Flinck, Jacob Jordaens, Jan Lievens, Ferdinand Bol
References
Dutch Rijksmonument 5941

The Royal Palace of Amsterdam in Amsterdam (Dutch: Koninklijk Paleis van Amsterdam or Paleis op de Dam) is one of three palaces in the Netherlands which are at the disposal of the monarch by Act of Parliament. It is situated on the west side of Dam Square in the centre of Amsterdam, opposite the War Memorial and next to the Nieuwe Kerk.

The palace building was commissioned by mayor Nicolaes Tulp as a large-scale construction project for a new city hall even before the old one burned down in 1652. It was completed in 1656 and became an international attraction for foreign visitors and the art installed in various public rooms were recorded and copied by various artists. During the Batavian Republic the public floors of the building became the first Amsterdam museum under Louis Bonaparte and later became his royal palace when Napoleon crowned him king. After the fall of Napoleon, it became the palace of the Dutch Royal House. The public floors still function as a museum and are open to the public most days of the year.

History

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Town hall

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The old structure was next to the Wisselbank, which in turn faced the weigh house next to the landing wharfs along Damrak, which at that time would have been busy with ships."[2] The fire on July 7th, 1652 was most disastrous for the treasury of coins there, which were eagerly "saved" by the helpful populace. Comparison of details of city maps before and after the fire show how construction was altered to clear buildings unaffected by the fire for an entire the city block in order to create a safe buffer from other buildings and reduce the chances of fire ever again.

  • The fire in the old city hall,1652-1666, by Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten
    The fire in the old city hall,1652-1666, by Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten
  • Print of the townsfolk gathering water to douse the flames, 1652-1690, by Jan van der Heyden
    Print of the townsfolk gathering water to douse the flames, 1652-1690, by Jan van der Heyden
  • The ruins of the old city hall,1652-1666, by Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten
    The ruins of the old city hall,1652-1666, by Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten

The new town hall was opened on 29 July 1655 by Cornelis de Graeff, the mayor of Amsterdam.[3] De Graeff's son Jacob de Graeff laid the foundation for this along with three other children. The main architect was Jacob van Campen, who took control of the construction project in 1648. It was built on 13,659 wooden piles.

Palace museum

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After the patriot revolution which swept the House of Orange from power a decade earlier, the new Batavian Republic was forced to accept Louis Bonaparte as King Louis I of Holland in 1806. After holding his court at The Hague and Utrecht, Louis Napoleon moved to Amsterdam in 1808. He converted the pubic rooms of the town hall into a national museum under the direction of Cornelis Apostool and took the rest of the royal palace for himself. The collection of the national museum had been formed by Alexander Gogel in The Hague after the contents of the Prince William V Gallery had been shipped to the Louvre in 1795. This ' National Art Gallery' collection was first shown in Huis ten Bosch from 1800. That museum, already an attraction for its Oranjezaal, exhibited around 200 paintings and historic objects from the collections of the Dutch stadtholders. In 1805, this National Art Gallery moved to the still-empty Prince William V Gallery, on the Buitenhof. In 1806, on the orders of the new king Louis Bonaparte the collection moved to the royal palace building in 1808. The motivation was to secure the collection from being abducted once again to the Louvre. Prominent paintings of national importance owned by Amsterdam, such as The Night Watch by Rembrandt, became part of the collection and in 1809, the museum opened its doors to the public. To improve the view from the palace, Louis Bonaparte ordered the deconstruction of the old weigh house in 1808, which had already been partially replaced in its function by the Waag, Amsterdam before the fire of 1652. By the 19th century, most boat traffic to the Damrak was no longer for goods but for people.

Today, the palace complex is used by the monarch for entertaining and official functions during state visits and other official receptions, such as New Year receptions. The award ceremonies of the Erasmus Prize, of the Silver Carnation, of the Royal Awards for Modern Painting, and of the Prince Claus Awards are also held in the palace.[1] It was made property of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1936.[1]

The balcony of the Royal Palace was used during the investiture of Queen Beatrix in 1980, where her mother Juliana announced the new queen to the people.[4]

The palace was renovated from 2005 until June 2009, during which, among other things, asbestos was removed. Since 14 June 2009, the palace is open again to visitors.[5]

Notable features

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The sandstone of yellowish hue has darkened considerably in the course of time. Astride the rear of the building is a 6-metre-tall statue of Atlas carrying the Globe on his shoulders.[6]

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References

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  1. ^ a b c The Royal Palace, Amsterdam Archived 18 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine. The Dutch Royal House. Retrieved on 18 February 2011.
  2. ^ Berlitz (March 2017). Berlitz Pocket Guide Amsterdam (Travel Guide eBook). ISBN 978-1-78573-023-8.
  3. ^ Frijhoff, Willem; Spies, Marijke (2004). Dutch Culture in a European Perspective: 1650, hard-won unity. ISBN 978-90-232-3963-5.
  4. ^ Geert Mak, Eymert-Jan Goossens. 350 jaar geschiedenis op de Dam. Amsterdam, 2005. P. 109.
  5. ^ Renovatie Paleis op de Dam in opbouwfase. Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment. Retrieved on 18 February 2011.
  6. ^ "Atlas". Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
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