Royal Palace of Amsterdam

Royal Palace Amsterdam
Koninklijk Paleis Amsterdam Paleis op de Dam
File:Koninlijk Paleis DSCN2407.jpg The Royal Palace Amsterdam in 2005
Former names	Stadhuis op de Dam
General information
Architectural style	Classicism
Location	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Address	Nieuwezijds Voorburg 147
Coordinates	52.373°N 4.891°E / 52.373; 4.891
Current tenants	Queen Beatrix
Construction started	1648
Completed	1665
Inaugurated	20 July 1655
Cost	ƒ 8.5 million
Owner	Kingdom of the Netherlands
Technical details
Floor area	22,031 m2
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Jacob van Campen, Daniël Stalpaert
Other designers	Artus Quellinus, Govert Flinck, Jacob Jordaens, Jan Lievens, Ferdinand Bol

The Royal Palace in Amsterdam (Koninklijk Paleis te Amsterdam in Dutch) is one of three palaces in the Netherlands which is at the disposal of Queen Beatrix by Act of Parliament. It is situated in the west side of Dam Square in the centre of Amsterdam, opposite the War Memorial and next to the Nieuwe Kerk.

Town hall

The town hall was opened on 20th July 1655 by the leaders of Amsterdam. It is now called the royal palace. It was built by Jacob van Campen. He took control of the construction project in 1648, as the Town Hall for the City of Amsterdam. It was built on 13,659 wooden piles and cost 8,5 million gulden. A yellowish sandstone from Bentheim in Germany was used for the entire building. The stone has darkened considerably in the course of time. Marble was the chosen material for the interior.

Jacob van Campen was inspired by Roman administrative palaces. He drew inspiration from the public buildings of Rome. He wanted to build a new capitol for the Amsterdam burgomasters who thought of themselves as the consuls of the new Rome of the North. The technical implementation was looked after by the town construction master Daniël Stalpaert. The sculptures were executed by Artus Quellijn.

The central hall is huge: 120 feet long, 60 feet wide and 90 feet high. On the dazzeling richness of the marble floor one sees two maps of the world with a celestial hemisphere. The Western and Eastern hemispheres are shown on the maps. On the hemispheres the colonial influential area of Amsterdam is detailed. The terrestrial hemispheres were made in the mid-18th century. They replaced an earlier pair made in the late 1650s. The originals showed the regions explored by VOC's ships in the first half of the 17th century.

On top of the palace is a large domed cupola, topped by a weather vane in the form of a Cog ship. This ship is a symbol of Amsterdam. Just underneath the dome there are a few windows. From here one could see the ships arrive and leave the harbour.

The interiors, focusing on the power and prestige of Amsterdam, were completed later.

Paintings inside include works by Govert Flinck (who died before finishing a cycle of twelve huge canvases), Jacob Jordaens, Jan Lievens and Ferdinand Bol. Rembrandt's largest work, The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis was commissioned for the building, but after hanging for some months was returned to him; the remaining fragment is now in Stockholm.

In its time the building was one of many candidates for the title of the Eighth Wonder of the World. Also, for a long time it was the largest administrative building in Europe.

Palace

See also: Capital of the Netherlands

After the patriot revolution which swept the House of Orange from power a decade earlier, the new Batavian Republic was forced to accept Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, as King of Holland in 1806. After holding his court at The Hague and Utrecht, Louis Napoleon moved to Amsterdam, and converted the Town Hall into a royal palace for himself.

The King of Holland did not have long to appreciate his new palace. He abdicated on the 2 July 1810, and the Netherlands was annexed by France. The palace then became home to the French governor, Charles François Lebrun.

Prince William VI (son of Prince William V of Orange), returned to the Netherlands in 1813, after Napoleon fell from power, and restored the palace to its original owners. After his investiture as King William I of the Netherlands, however, Amsterdam was made the official capital of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (the seats of government being Brussels and The Hague). The new King realised the importance of having a palace in the capital, and the Town Hall again became a royal palace.

It was made property of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1936, and is used by the Queen for entertaining and hosting official functions, such as state visits, the New Year reception, and the presentations of the Erasmus, Royal Grant to Painting and Prince Claus prizes.

External links

• Koninklijk Paleis Amsterdam at the website of the Dutch Royal House
• Royal Palace Amsterdam Independant article and photographs of the Palace in Dam Square.