Paleis op de Dam
The Paleis op de Dam (Koninklijk Paleis) is the Royal Palace located in downtown Amsterdam on the edge of the Square de Dam . It was built from 1648 to 1665 - when Amsterdam was at the height of its power in the Golden Age - according to designs by the architect Jacob van Campen in the Dutch classicist style as the Stadhuis ('City Hall'). The sculptures come from the workshop of Artus Quellijn .
In 1808 the building was first used not as a town hall , but as a royal palace . Since 1939 it has been used permanently by the royal family of the House of Orange-Nassau for representational purposes and as a guest house for state guests, but not as the seat of the royal family.
Directly in front of the palace, where there used to be a Gothic town hall, the De Eendracht ('Concord') monument by Louis Royer rose from 1856 onwards , and in 1914 it had to give way to newly laid tram tracks. In 1956 the national monument was erected on the square . The building and monument were declared a Rijksmonument .
meaning
The building is considered to be the most important historical and cultural structure of the Dutch Golden Age. Originally, mayors rather than kings were supposed to reside here; the building was erected as the seat of the magistrate and the city court.
The poet Constantijn Huygens praised it as “the eighth wonder of the world, built with so much stone and so much wood underneath” , because the building stands on 13,659 wooden piles. The silver spatula that was used to lay the foundation stone is still on display today as a souvenir.
The Stadhuis on Platz de Dam , painting by Gerrit Adriaenszoon Berckheyde (1638–1698)
Paleis op de Dam around 1900
Paleis op de Dam today
The old Gothic town hall, burned down in 1652, painting by Pieter Jansz. Saenredam (1597-1665)
Paleis op de Dam as a miniature in Madurodam
Establishment
Amsterdam's old Gothic town hall had become dilapidated and had to be replaced with another. According to mayor Cornelis de Graeff in particular , the new Stadhuis should set an example for the independence of the Netherlands and the finally regained peace, as well as showcase the wealth of the city and the supremacy of the province of Holland . In addition to the mundane purposes of administration, administration of justice and city defense, it was planned as a status symbol of the country and its bourgeoisie. The Republic of the United Netherlands did not become a monarchy until 1804 , until then sovereignty was borne by the estates . In the Golden Age, rule over the state was in the hands of merchant masters, the name used at the time for large merchants who represented the commercial and financial bourgeoisie. Material wealth was considered God's grace and established the power of the estates, whose model was Venice , which is why they wanted to build a Doge's palace . This was considered the republican center of the republic and the seat of the regent. Cornelis de Graeff's son Jacob de Graeff laid the foundation stone for this. The history and the year of the laying of the foundation stone were recorded by Cornelis de Graeff on a black marble slab in one of the courtrooms in Latin script:
“On October 29, 1648, the year in which the war was ended, the united Low German peoples with the three powerful Philipps, the kings of Spain, on land and sea in almost all parts of the world for more than 80 years after patriotic freedom and freedom of belief had been assured, during the government of the excellent mayor Gerb. Pancras, Jac. de Graef, Sib. Valchenier Pet. Schaep, sons and blood relatives of the mayor laid the foundation for this town hall by laying the foundation stone. "
Various designs were examined for the new building. It was supposed to be located again near the old building on Dam Square, Amsterdam's only large, free square in the city center that had long served as a public and political forum. The town hall, in front of which public executions took place, has stood here since the Middle Ages. The Peace of Münster brought so much euphoria and confidence with that, finally, the most ambitious plan was carried out - of the architect Jacob van Campen, who, among others, with the construction of th Huis Bosch and the renovation of Noordeinde Palace in The Hague a name had made.
The elaborate pile foundation , in which 13,659 tree trunks were driven into the ground, was architecturally considered the eighth wonder of the world. Every Dutch schoolchild still learns the number of stakes required with a donkey bridge : dagen van het jaar, eentje ervoor, negentje erachter ('the number of anniversaries with a one in front of it and a nine behind it').
City architect Daniël Stalpaert was responsible for the technical execution of the construction . When the construction costs increased more and more after a while and threatened to get out of control, the architect Jacob van Campen came into conflict with the city administration, which in 1654 put Stalpaert at his side for cost control. Why van Campen resigned his - albeit largely already carried out - tasks and Stalpaert was entrusted with the complete construction management in the same year is not known; even Vondel can only speculate about this and thinks that Stalpaert's unauthorized changes to details of the construction plans aroused van Campen's displeasure.
The town hall was officially inaugurated in 1655, but the building was not completed until ten years later. Work on the interior was carried out until the beginning of the 18th century. The old town hall burned down in 1652.
location
The square de Dam was built in the 13th century, around which the city arose, which was first mentioned in 1275. Initially, de Dam was a dam - hence its name, which also gave the city name Amsterdam its name - with a sluice to regulate the Amstel and connect individual collections of houses and quickly developed into the central marketplace of the rapidly growing city. In the illustration by Cornelis Anthonisz. dating from 1544, the state before the new town hall was built around two hundred years after the city was founded can be seen.
The square was dominated by the Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk ('Liebfrauenkirche'), which was built in the early 15th century and almost burned down in 1645 and was named Nieuwe Kerk after the new building . The enthronement of the Dutch queens and kings has been taking place here since 1814. Otherwise there was a weighing house and many trading and merchant houses where the ships on the Amstel could dock directly and unload their goods. On the western part (in front of the Amstel lock) was the centuries-old fish market.
Hendrick de Keyser built the first Amsterdam commodity exchange on the southern part of the square between 1608 and 1611 , which was demolished in 1835. A little further to the north-east, where the De Bijenkorf department store has stood since 1914 , Jan David Zocher jr. (1791-1870) designed exchange opened, which in turn demolished in 1903 and by the Berlage Stock Exchange was replaced on the Damrak.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the Amsterdam magistrate had already begun to buy up many of the relatively small pieces of land, especially in the western part of Dam, in order to be able to build a spacious new town hall.
execution
Jacob van Campen was inspired in his plans by Roman administrative palaces; Roman, Greek, French, but also Calvinist influence can be found. The reconstructions of biblical buildings by the theologian and architectural theorist Juan Bautista Villalpando , published in 1596–1604, may also have played a role.
The splendid classical building forms a square 80 meters long, 63 meters deep and 33 meters high, adorned with a vaulted dome in the middle, from which a 20-meter-high tower rises up, crowned with a weather vane in the shape of a Dutch cog . On the roof there is a bronze statue reminding of the Peace of Westphalia , to the left and right of it are figures representing wisdom and justice, which refers to the original purpose as a town hall with city administration and court.
The external appearance combines elements of the French palace structure (pavilion wing system) with a Palladian accentuation of the center ( risalit with triangular gable ). The offices and reception rooms are arranged around corridors on both sides of the central citizens' hall over a rectangular, lattice-shaped floor plan. This large, barrel-vaulted hall goes through the full depth and height of the building.
The building was made entirely of Bentheim sandstone , the original color of which was eggshell-colored, almost white, and discolored and darkened over time. Numerous statues, reliefs and wall paintings adorn the building, the main gable field shows an allegory of the city of Amsterdam as ruler of the seas. The entrance area is the full width of the main gable and is advanced. At street level - without a “dividing” curb to underline that the Stadhuis should belong to all citizens equally - seven undecorated arches stand for the seven provinces of the then Republic of the Seven United Netherlands . Despite this emphasis on the center, the actual entrance is not easy to find; this should better protect the building from attackers.
The comparatively small courtroom is the most splendidly equipped room, but color was largely omitted to underline the “gloomy purpose”. The main staircase leads to the 28-meter-high citizens' hall , where the people of Amsterdam literally put the whole world at their feet. It represents the universe, with Amsterdam as the absolute center. In the surrounding gallery there are sun, moon and planets in the corners to make it even clearer in which position the city saw itself. The walls are hung with allegorical paintings up to six meters high, many of which are by Rembrandt's students Ferdinand Bol and Govaert Flinck . Paintings with mythical themes alternate with statues made of bible motifs with "the rebuking and warning finger" of the Calvinists : Atlas carrying the world on his back; the Justitia ( justice ) standing below him with her helpers: death , a skeleton holding a running hourglass in her hand, and punishment , represented by a woman with instruments of torture . The Justice distributes the greed , King Midas with his donkey ears, and envy , represented by an ugly woman with snakes as hair.
All main halls are clad with marble, while higher wall sections are covered with deceptively real marbled wood in order not to make the building unnecessarily heavy. So does the 36 meter long and 18 meter wide council chamber, one of the largest in Europe. The Empire furniture , a legacy of Louis Bonaparte , who as “Lodewijk Napoleon” became the first king of Holland and with which the town hall became the royal palace, is striking . Sculptural decorations and paintings can be found in practically every room . There are luminous ceiling frescos in many rooms .
Use as a lock
In 1808 the building was converted from the town hall into a residential palace for King Louis Bonaparte, who had chosen Amsterdam as his royal seat. Since then it has been referred to as the Koninklijk Paleis ("Royal Palace"). In risalit balconies were built and divided the galleries with wooden walls. Louis Bonaparte founded a Royal Museum in the palace, which formed the basis for the later Rijksmuseum . In 1810, when the Netherlands were annexed by France , it was even temporarily used as an imperial palace. In 1813, after the withdrawal of the French, the palace was returned to the city of Amsterdam and initially served as the town hall again and, after the Battle of Waterloo and the Congress of Vienna, as the royal palace of the Dutch royal family. On March 30, 1814, Willem I was enthroned here as Sovereign Prince. In 1939 the Dutch government bought the building from the city of Amsterdam for ten million guilders. Until the time of Queen Wilhelmina , who often showed up there, the palace was used regularly by the royal family. In 1948 she appeared symbolically with her daughter Juliana on the balcony of the Paleis after she had abdicated in her favor.
Usage today
In 1966, Beatrix's wedding to Prince Claus was held in the palace; When she was enthroned as Queen in 1980, Beatrix appeared on the balcony, where her eldest son and successor Willem-Alexander appeared in February 2002 on the occasion of his marriage to Máxima . Otherwise, members of the royal family are only present at official receptions, such as the New Year's reception. In addition, the palace is used as a residence for state guests and other distinguished visitors.
The building was restored several times in the 20th century, and Louis Bonaparte's alterations were largely reversed. From September 2005 it was closed for longer-term restoration purposes, and the residential wing for state guests was also renovated. The cost of the work was estimated at 67 million euros.
The reopening took place in June 2009. The building was made accessible to the public again for viewing. In the future, significantly more cultural events are to take place there. So far it has been visited by around 100,000 visitors a year; In addition, exhibitions were held in the summer months, for example in 2004 with works by Ludolf Bakhuizen (1630–1708).
literature
- Eymert-Jan Goossens: Schat van Beitel en Penseel, Het Amsterdamse stadhuis uit de Gouden Eeuw . Waanders, Zwolle (also: Stichting Koninklijk Paleis, Amsterdam) 1996, ISBN 90-400-9880-8 .
- Jacobine E. Huisken, Koen A. Ottenheym, Gary Schwartz, and others. a .: Jacob van Campen. Het Klassieke ideaal in de Gouden Eeuw . Architectura & Natura Pers, Amsterdam (also: Stichting Koninklijk Paleis, Amsterdam) 1995, ISBN 90-71570-52-5 .
- Geert Mak , Isabelle de Keghel: Amsterdam. Biography of a city . Btb, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-442-73515-7 .
- Michael North: History of the Netherlands . C. H. Beck, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-406-41878-3 .
- Joost van den Vondel : Inwydinge van't stadthuis t'Amsterdam . Ed .: Edition by Marijke Spies et al. Dick Coutinho, Muiderberg 1982, ISBN 90-6283-584-8 ( dbnl.nl (Dutch)).
- Pieter Vlaardingerbroek: Town halls in Holland in the 17th and 18th centuries with special consideration of the Amsterdam town hall . In: Klein, Ulrich (Hrsg.): Town halls and other communal buildings. Report on the meeting of the Working Group for House Research eV in Lüneburg from September 27 to October 1, 2009. Marburg 2010, pp. 129–140.
Web links
- Official website (Dutch, English)
- Royal Palace Amsterdam . In: koenigshaus.nl
- The Royal Palace on Dam Square . In: holland.com
- The Paleis op de Dam as a 3D model in SketchUp's 3D warehouse
References and comments
- ↑ The king himself lives in the Paleis Huis ten Bosch away from the city center of The Hague . Paleis Noordeinde in The Hague is the official seat of the Dutch monarchy and thus the “working palace” of the king.
- ↑ Doorluchte stichteren van 's werelts eighth wonder, / Van sooveel steens omhoog, op sooveel houts van onder, / Van soo veel costelicks, soo konstiglick bewrocht, / Van sooveel heerlickheits, tot soo veel nuts broken; / God, who u do en splendor met talk gaf te voegen, / God geev 'u int gebouw, met talk en genoegen / Te toonen like gij sijt, daer ick' t al in sluyt, / Heil zij daer eeuwigh in en onheil eeuwigh uyt. / Is oock soo vorgeschickt, dat dese marmre muren / Des aertsrijcks uyterste niet hebben te verduren / En werd het noodigh, dat het negende verschijn '/ Om' s eighth wonderwercks nakomelingh te sijn ': / God, uwer vadren God, God, uwer kindren Vader, / God, soo nabij u, sij dien kindren soo veel nader, / Dat haere welvaert noch een huys bou 'en besitt' / Daerbij dit nieuwe sta, als' t oude stond bij dit. (Quoted from Brugmans, 3, 89–90, see Stichting Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren (dbnl) ( Memento of the original of July 4, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original - and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. )
- ↑ Palais Amsterdam
- ↑ His shovel decorated with his coat of arms is still in the collection of the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum .
- ↑ 1648: War and Peace in Europe - The Amsterdam City Hall
- ↑ Vondel: ( Memento of the original from July 4, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. De Wester marmerklip den maetzang volght van Kampen / En Stalpaert, the bezweet still work vliên, still ramps, / Noch opspraeck, nu en dan sprongen voor hun scheen, / Te vrede datze zich verbouwen voor 't Gemeen.
- ^ Gerd Maak: Amsterdam. Biography of a city. P. 93
- ↑ Joost van den Vondel: ( Memento of the original from July 4, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. De four hoofdgebouwen aan de Dam.
- ^ Vlaardingerbroek, Pieter: Town halls in Holland in the 17th and 18th centuries with special consideration of the Amsterdam town hall. In: Klein, Ulrich (Hrsg.): Town halls and other communal buildings. Report on the meeting of the Working Group for House Research eV in Lüneburg from September 27 to October 1, 2009. Marburg 2010, pp. 129–140.
- ↑ Municipality of Amsterdam, Mayor Cohen's column, May 10, 2007 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Koninklijk Paleis Amsterdam met Backhuysen ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Coordinates: 52 ° 22 ′ 23 " N , 4 ° 53 ′ 29" E
