Royal Palace (Amsterdam)
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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.
[edit] Town Hall
It was built by Jacob van Campen, who took control of the construction project in 1648, as the Town Hall for the City of Amsterdam, and 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), while only marble was considered good enough for the interior.
Jacob van Campen was inspired by Roman administrative palaces. He drew inspiration from the public buildings of Rome, so he wanted to build a new capitol was for the Amsterdam burgomasters who thought of themselves as the consuls of the new Rome of the North. The glory of the Dutch Republic in general and the city of Amsterdam in particular yielded the most important historic and cultural monument of 17th century Holland. The technical implementation was looked after by the town construction master Daniël Stalpaert. The sculptures were executed by Artus Quellijn.
The interior is of dazzling richness. The central hall is huge: 120 feet long, 60 feet wide and 90 feet high. On the marble floor one sees two maps of the world with a celestial hemisphere. The Western and Eastern hemisphere are shown and in it the colonial influential area of Amsterdam. The terrestrial hemispheres were made in the mid-18th century, replacing an earlier pair made in the late 1650s, showing the regions explored by VOC-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 where one could see the ships arrive and leave the harbour to sail through the “IJ” into the Zuider Zee and on to the rest of the world.
It was opened on 20th July 1655 by the leaders of the city. The interiors, focusing on the power and prestige of Amsterdam, were completed later. Paintings include works by Govert Flinck (who died before finishing a cylcle 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 those days it was one of many candidates for the title of the Eighth Wonder of the World and it was for a long time the largest administrative building in Europe.
[edit] 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.
[edit] External links
- Royal Palace (Amsterdam) is at coordinates Coordinates:
| Royal Palaces in the Netherlands |  |
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|---|---|---|
| Official residences: Koninklijk Palace | Noordeinde Palace | Soestdijk Palace | Huis ten Bosch
Former residences: Het Loo | Mauritshuis | Lange Voorhout | Kneuterdijk |
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