DK Travel : Amsterdam : History & Culture

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Nooit Meer

In stark contrast to its peaceful surroundings, Jan Wolkers’ Auschwitz memorialNever More features a slab of shattered glass. The fragments reflect a distorted view of the heavens, mirroring the damage done to humanity by the Holocaust.
Noorderkerk

Hendrick de Keyser’s last church, begun a year before he died in 1621 (its completion was supervised by his son Pieter), is quite different in style. Built for the poor of the Jordaan, it is an austere brick building with only the shortest of spires. Designed on a Greek Cross plan, it has a central pulpit and four hipped roofs.
Noordermarkt

By the entrance to the Noorderkerk, a stillflourishing Protestant church, a sculpture commemorates theJordaanoproer (Jordaan riot) of 1934, in which seven people died during demonstrations against cuts in unemployment benefits. Today the tranquil surrounding square, a market site since 1627, comes to life during the Monday flea market and the Saturday bird market andboerenmarkt , selling organic produce.
Oostindisch Huis

Seen from the courtyard, the impressive red-brick façade, with its ornate entrance and stonedressed windows, was the height of corporate fashion. Headquarters of the once mighty Dutch East India Company (VOC), it was built in 1605, probably by Hendrick de Keyser, and is now part of Amsterdam University. The 17th-century meeting room of the VOC lords has been restored.
Oude Kerk

The oldest and greatest of Amsterdam’s churches(see Oude Kerk).
Ouderkerk aan de Amstel

There was no church in town until 1330 (see Oude Kerk), so people came instead to this picturesque riverside village to worship at the 11th-century Oude Kerk that stood here until it was destroyed by a storm in 1674. Convivial waterside cafés and restaurants are the chief lure these days, but you can also walk in the wooded garden of an 18th-century house, Wester Amstel, and visit an unexpected site: the Beth Haim Jewish cemetery. Amsterdam’s Jews have been buried here since 1615, when they were forbidden burial in the city.
P C Hooftstraat

This elegant shopping street is to Amsterdam what Bond Street is to London. All the names in international fashion are here – Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, DKNY, Gucci, Mulberry, Emporio Armani – although wellheeled locals tend to favour friendlier Cornelis Schuystraat nearby.
Paleis van Justitie

This sober, monumental building in Empire style is a conversion of the Almoners’ Orphanage by city architect Jan de Greef.
Pediment Carvings

Carvings often decorate the triangular or rounded form above doorways: see the Felix Meritis Building.
Piet Mondriaan

Although he lived in London, Paris and New York (and few of his works are on show in Amsterdam), Mondriaan was born and grew up in Holland (1872–1944). A leading member of the De Stijl movement, he created an abstract style using the simplest elements: straight lines and blocks of primary colour, arranged on the canvas to create harmony and balance.