 | Amsterdam Dam Square - Royal Palace Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 95 |  |
Situated in the Dam square, the Royal Palace is itself one of the landmarks of Amsterdam. A fine example of the classical Dutch architecture, it was designed by Jacob van Campen and built between 1648 and 1655. Constructed on 13.659 piles, needed to create a solid base in the marshy ground, it was originally built to take place of the previous Town Hall, which had been completely destroyed by fire.
Louis Bonaparte, the brother of Napoleon I, made it his royal palace when he became King of Holland in 1808, though he abdicated only two years later.
The simple facade strikes the viewers first. It has four orders of windows, above which is a triangular pediment containg sculptures by Artus Quelijn the Younger, an artist from Antwerp. The statues represents the city of Amsterdam surrounded by Neptune and other mythical sea creatures, including nymphs and tritons.
The harmonious exterior of the palace is completed by an octogonal tower and cupola. Severely simple outside, the palace is splendidly decorated inside. Leave a Comment |
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Let's stir up the aesthetical controversy about this "8th wonder of the world"!!
No doubt it was a large building for its time, no doubt that the architect Jacob Van Campen was not fully satisfied of his work as he met important ground stability problems, no doubt Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was not fond of it, no doubt there are many, many, nicer town halls or palaces in Europe.
No doubt also that the Dam Palace is well known from world tourism.
Actually the Dam Palace looked better a few centuries ago. The facade in Bentheimer sandstone was nearly white at the start as can be seen from the model at the Amsterdam Historisch museum or from a painting (1668) by Jan Van der Heyden at Le Louvre museum.
A clean up of the façade is on the program but apparently there is no budget!
NOTE: It has just been announced (2/06/2008) that the renovation of roof and façade will start in 2009 and will need 3 - 4 years.
The inside renovation which started in 2005 will be finished begin 2009. |
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I was really disappointed when I saw the Royal Palace. The building is black and the architecture is very boring, not what you expect from a royal palace. Up till now the queen didn't stay at this palace. I can understand why.
This palace was built in the 17th century and was used as a town hall before it became the Royal Palace at the beginning of the 19th century. Leave a Comment |
Lots of houses and huge buildings are build on piles in the Netherlands.
They say Amsterdam is build on piles.
The palace is build on 13.659 piles!!
It is build between 1648 – 1655. It was meant as a town hall , it was a represented building you can still see this at the marble arcade, with beautiful paintings.
In 1808 the building was a residence for Lodewijk Napoleon.
Since 1935 the building is property of the state and the queen is the officiale in habitant of the palace.
You can visit some parts of the palace, the Burgerzaal, de Rechtzaal, de Schepenzaal en de Burgemeesterskamer (majors room) Leave a Comment |
The Royal palace was built between 1648 and 1665 as the cityhall of Amsterdam. The peacetreaty of “Münster” (1648) brought independence to The Netherlands (then called The United Provinces)and thus it called for erecting large monuments to show the world what “Holland” was about. It would become the largest governemental building within Europe at that time and it’s fundament rests on 13.659 poles. The “eight” world wonder, some people said, that would show the power of the city of Amsterdam. In 1808 The Netherlands were occupied by Napoleon and ruled by his brother “Lodewijk Napoleon” under the name “Batavian Republic”. Amsterdam became the capitol under his rule and he took the cityhall up as his residence. Thus it became a palace, something the Orange-family (royal family) after the return to a free country, did not change back. The palace became royal but is not anymore the home of our royal family anymore. Wilhelmina used it as working palace, but lived herself in "Het Loo" in Apeldoorn. Juliana had her palace in Soest and present queen Beatrix lives (and works) in The Hague. Under Juliana (1960) the palace was opened to public in certain events. However special events for our royalty still take place here. Like in February 2002 the wedding of crownprince Willem-Alexander with Argentinian lady Maxima Zorreguieta. On the balcony of this palace they gave each other THE kiss! Leave a Comment |
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While standing in Dam Square you can't miss imposing Koninklijk Paleis - Royal Palace. This Palace was built in 17th century with the purpose of housing City Hall. Being Amsterdam a major and flourishing trading capital, this building was supposed to be outstanding. Nevertheless, construction didn't go as planned and they needed 13600 pillars to sustain building. Most furniture comes from Luis Bonaparte who proclaimed this Palace his official residence in 1808. Nowadays, Dutch Royal Family sometimes uses Koninklijk Paleis for ceremonies. Inside the Palace you may visit exihbitions, call to confirm as Palace might be closed due to Royal Family affairs. Leave a Comment |
At some expositions that are held in the palace, it is opened to public. Whatever exposition it is, go inside to watch from the higher promenade to the mosaic works on the floor of the civilians chamber. Though the palace looks quite sober on the outside (but don’t forget that at the time it was an amazing construction), the interior is of dazzling richness. This central hall is huge: 120 feet long, 60 feet wide and 90 feet high (1 feet = 28,3 cm). On the marbel floor one sees the two maps of the world Western and Eastern hemisphere are shown and in it the colonial influencial area of the Seven Provinces. The hemispheres are mad in the 18th century, showing the paths that the VOC-ships sailed over the whole world in the 17th century. Once even more extensive then the English or Spanish properties (see General Tips - History). Leave a Comment |
On top of the – now slightly modest looking palace – is a dome, with on top a windpointer in the form of a “Koggeship” (a small ship that was used in Amsterdam for the transport of goods from the harbour to the warehouses). This ship is a symbol of Amsterdam. Just underneath the dome there are a few windows, well, more lukes, from where one could see the ships arrive and leave the harbour to sail through the “IJ” into the Zuiderzee (Southern sea) and on to the rest of the world. Leave a Comment |
At the heart of the square sits the Royal Palace. It was once known as the Town Hall. Construction was begun in 1648 and the outside was completed in 1665. The inside took another 10 years to complete. The dome is crowned by a weather vane in the shape of a cargo ship, which is the oldest version of the Amsterdam coat of arms. Due to time constraints, we did not go inside, but heard that it is a must see due to the ornate decoration of the interior. Leave a Comment |
They started to build this palace in 1648, when it was used first as a city hall.
It is designed by Jacob van Campen (classicist style) and for the founding they used almost 14.000 piles.
Now it is used by the Queen for official occasions, for example state visits.
Most of the furniture is from 1808, from the time when Louis Napoleon settled in this palace.
Before visiting this palace please check first the opening dates and times. Leave a Comment |
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