The Royal Palace of Amsterdam was build in the 17th century as the new city hall of Amsterdam. After the signing of the peace treaty of Munster in 1648, Amsterdam started to execute its ambitious plan for a new city hall. The city council chose Jacob van Campen’s design for a large and impressive building. The power and wealth of the city of Amsterdam in the recently established Republic of the Netherlands are reflected in the building and its interior design. These ideals have been portrayed in the sculptures by Artus Quellien and in the paintings by e.g. Govert Flinck and Ferdinand Bol.
Jacob van Campen designed a well-balanced building in a style called as Dutch Classicism. He exercised a considerable amount of restraint as far as the basic shapes and decorative schemes were concerned. These starting points resulted in a set-up characterised by perspicuity of design. Nowhere does the decoration distract ones attention from the overall structure. The facade is a harmonious composition based on the proportions advocated by the champions of classical architecture. The prominent plinth supports two pilaster zones, each of them corresponding with a large and a smaller window (i.e. 1.5 storeys). Corinthian pilasters articulate the upper and Composite pilasters the lower section, a scheme promoted by Vincenzo Scamozzi. The middle ressault and fronton as well as the corner pavilions slightly project beyond the building line. Capitals, festoons and other sculptural elements are of the very best quality without drawing too much attention to themselves. The festoons were copied by many designers of canal houses. Especially impressive are the large sculptured marble pediments and the bronze statues on top of the frontons.
When King Louis Napoleon came to Amsterdam in 1808 he had the city hall turned into a royal palace. The large collection of Empire style furniture, chandeliers and clocks date from this period. The palace is still used for official functions by her Majesty the Queen. In the Summer the palace is open to the public. Guided tours for groups can be arranged by appointment all year round.
Related Travel Information
Potsdam: Germany
Potsdam [?p?tsdam] is a city in eastern Germany of around 150,000 people, and the capital of the state of Brandenburg. It is situated on the Havel river, 26km south-west of Berlin, accessible by S-Bahn (Metro). It also has a series of interconnected lakes.
Sights in Potsdam
Sanssouci Palace and glasshouses
Sanssouci Palace, former palace of the Prussian royal and German imperial families
Orangery Palace, former palace for foreign royal guests
Neues Palais ("New Palace"), an additional palace in Sanssouci Park, built in 1769
Charlottenhof, another palace in Sanssouci Park, by Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1826)
New Garden with two smaller palaces, one of them Cecilienhof, where
Museum of Military History
I. Szent Gyorgy ter Wing A of the Royal Palace Budapest
Phone.: 356-9522
Open: Jun-Sep Tue-Sun 10-18h, Oct-Mar Tue-Sun 10-16h
Hungarian National Gallery
I. Szent Gyorgy ter, Wing B,C&D of the Royal Palace Budapest
Phone.: 224-3700
Open: Tue-Sun 10-18h
Statue Park
XXII. Balatoni ut Budapest Hungary
Phone.: 227-7446
Open: 10-night
Museum of History of Budapest
I. Szent Gyorgy ter, Wing E of the Royal Palace Budapest
Phone.: 375-7533
Open: Mar-Oct Wed-Mon 10-18h; May-Sep every day 10-18h; Nov-Feb Wed-Mon 10-16h
Ludwig Museum - Museum of Contemporary Art
I. Szent Gyorgy ter, Wing A of the Royal Palace Budapest
Phone.: 375-9175
Open: Tue-Wen 10-18h, Thu 10-20h, Fri-Sun 10-18h
Museum of Aquincum
III. Szentendrei ut 139 Budapest Hungary
Phone.: 368-8241
Open: 15-30
Getting to Amsterdam
Many of the world's airlines fly directly to Amsterdam, but it might be cheaper for you to fly to a nearby city such as London and get to Amsterdam by bus or train. Many airlines will offer you a free side trip within Europe, so ask around and see what offers are available.
Amsterdam is well connected to the rest of Europe, including Britain, by long-distance bus. Buses are consistently cheaper than trains, but on some services you'll get a lungful of cigarette smoke. Amsterdam's main train station is Centraal, which has regular and efficient connections throughout the country
Festivals in Amsterdam
*January, if canals are frozen, 'Eleven Cities Journey' skating marathon.
mid March, Blues Festival, 2 days.
*April, Orange [Queens] Day, is the city's biggest street party. May, 2nd Sat, Windmill day end of May, Drum Rythm Festival [indoors]
*June, Holland Festival [varied arts]
mid July, North Sea Jazz Festival [w/e]
Sept, 1st Sat, Flower Parades
Nov, 2nd or 3rd Sat, Sinterklaas Parade
Nov, Cannabis Cup competition
Cuisine in Amsterdam
There is a huge range of restaurants and cafes for every travelller's taste and budget in Amsterdam. The best weird experience is the Indonesian 'rijestafel' [rice table] speciality; Indrapura, Kantjil and de Tijger are highly recommended.
The hippest
The largest and most popular museum in the Netherlands, the Rijksmuseum was first opened as the Nationale Konstgallerij (National Art Gallery) in 1800 in Huis ten Bosch in The Hague. It moved to Amsterdam in 1808 under the orders of Louis Napoleon, King of Holland, first to the Koninklijk Paleis (Royal Palace) in Dam Square, and then to the Trippenhuis, a mansion on Kloveniersburgwal, in 1817. The collection was moved to its present building, a mix of Gothic and Renaissance styles, designed by the Dutch architect Cuypers, in 1885. A new wing was added between 1906-1909 and 1913-1916 to house
