Felix Meritis ("Happy through Merit") is the name of a former society and its building on the Keizersgracht in Amsterdam. Since 1988 The Felix Meritis Foundation has been located in the building as a European centre for art, culture and science.
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The society Felix Meritis was established by the middle classes of Amsterdam in 1777. On October 31, 1788, the building of the same name opened its doors. The society, inspired by the Enlightenment ideals, focused on the promotion of arts and sciences and distinguished several departments: Music, Drawing Studies, Physics, Commerce and Literature. Felix Meritis’ oval concert hall was the main music hall in Amsterdam until late into the 19th century and enjoyed a great international reputation. Many famous musicians performed there, including Robert and Clara Schumann, Camille Saint-Saëns, Johannes Brahms and Julius Röntgen. The orchestra of Felix Meritis was regarded as the best of the Netherlands and accompanied many Dutch premieres, directed by conductors such as Johannes Bernardus van Bree. Thus, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique were first played in the concert hall of Felix Meritis. The small hall of the Concertgebouw is a replica of this concert hall. The society was abolished in 1888.
When the society was dissolved in 1888 the printing company Holdert & Co., which became one of Amsterdam's largest printing companies, took it over. In 1932 part of the building was destroyed in a fire. After the Second World War the Communist Party of the Netherlands set up its headquarters in the building. From 1947 until 1981 the newspaper 'The Truth' ('De Waarheid') rolled from the presses. In the 50’s Felix Meritis was the symbol of communism in the Netherlands. This image has been embedded in the collective memory since the storming of the building on November 4, 1956, in response to the Russian invasion of Hungary. In the late sixties Felix Meritis became the cradle of evenings for alternative youth, which were named Provadya. In 1969 the Shaffy Theater opened, which gained a reputation as a stopping place for the Dutch avant-garde including Ramses Shaffy, Baal, Holland's Hope, Independent Theater and Hauser Orkater. In 1988 The Felix Meritis foundation was established in the building as a European center for art, culture and science.
Felix Meritis is an independent international meeting place and serves as director of the European public debate, cultural processes and international projects and exchanges. Felix Meritis presents itself as a knowledge institution and platform for European cultural dialogue and cultural-political issues. The motto of Felix Meritis is Connecting Cultures. In collaboration with partners from home and abroad Felix Meritis initiates projects such as A Soul for Europe, Amsterdam Forum, The People Network, Gulliver Connect, Amsterdam Summer University, Dare2Connect, The European House for Culture (Brussels), Night of Philosophy, Cafe Europa, The Globalization Lecture Foundation and Kuhnya.
The society commissioned Jacob Otten Husly (1738–1796) to design the building in Louis XVI style. This style refers to Classicism, which is characteristic of the Age of Enlightenment. The classical temple façade with its colossal Corinthian pilasters and pediment is characteristic of the neoclassical style. The society's departments - visual arts and architecture, literature, trade, natural sciences and music - are symbolized in five embossed sculptures. The interior includes original 18th-century features such as the central staircase, the oval concert hall (renowned for its acoustics) and the domed roof - underneath which there used to be an observatory. The building is a national monument.
Linda Bouws, MA Theatre Studies, has been the director of The Felix Meritis Foundation, European Centre for Arts, Culture and Science in Amsterdam since 2002.