Royal Palace Amsterdam

The Royal Palace of Amsterdam was build in the 17th century as the new city hall of Amsterdam. After the signing of the peace treaty of Munster in 1648, Amsterdam started to execute its ambitious plan for a new city hall. The city council chose Jacob van Campen’s design for a large and impressive building. The power and wealth of the city of Amsterdam in the recently established Republic of the Netherlands are reflected in the building and its interior design. These ideals have been portrayed in the sculptures by Artus Quellien and in the paintings by e.g. Govert Flinck and Ferdinand Bol.
Jacob van Campen designed a well-balanced building in a style called as Dutch Classicism. He exercised a considerable amount of restraint as far as the basic shapes and decorative schemes were concerned. These starting points resulted in a set-up characterised by perspicuity of design. Nowhere does the decoration distract one’s attention from the overall structure. The facade is a harmonious composition based on the proportions advocated by the champions of classical architecture. The prominent plinth supports two pilaster zones, each of them corresponding with a large and a smaller window (i.e. 1.5 storeys). Corinthian pilasters articulate the upper and Composite pilasters the lower section, a scheme promoted by Vincenzo Scamozzi. The middle ressault and fronton as well as the corner pavilions slightly project beyond the building line. Capitals, festoons and other sculptural elements are of the very best quality without drawing too much attention to themselves. The festoons were copied by many designers of canal houses. Especially impressive are the large sculptured marble pediments and the bronze statues on top of the frontons.
When King Louis Napoleon came to Amsterdam in 1808 he had the city hall turned into a royal palace. The large collection of Empire style furniture, chandeliers and clocks date from this period. The palace is still used for official functions by her Majesty the Queen. In the Summer the palace is open to the public. Guided tours for groups can be arranged by appointment all year round.