DK Travel : Amsterdam : History & Culture

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Dam Square

Amsterdam’s main square is named after the dam on the River Amstel, around which the city grew. By the 17th century, it had become the focus of the Dutch trading empire (see Dam Square).
De Burcht (Vakbondsmuseum)

Nicknamed “the castle” because of its crenellated façade, this is the oldest Trades Union building in the Netherlands, built in 1900 by H P Berlage of Beurs fame for the General Dutch Diamond Workers’ Union (ANDB). Go inside for the stunning tiled entrance hall and staircase, and murals by Richard Roland Holst of the Amsterdam School.
De Dageraad Housing

A housing estate seems an unlikely tourist attraction, but the complex built for the De Dageraad (Dawn) housing association from 1918–23 is well worth a visit – especially for anyone interested in the Amsterdam School of Architecture. Piet Kramer and Michel de Klerk designed sculptural buildings of great originality, with tiled roofs that undulate in waves, and brick walls that billow and curve. The project was part of an initiative chargeto provide better housing for poorer families, in the wake of the revolutionary Housing Act of 1901.
De Dokwerker

Mari Andriessen’s evocative bronze statue (1952) is a memorial to the dockers’ and transport workers’ strike of February 1941 over the arrest of 450 Jews for the killing of a Nazi sympathizer. The event is commemorated every 25 February.
De Gooyer Windmill

If you are lucky, you might see the vast, streamlined sails of this 18th-century corn mill creak into motion. Built in 1725, the whole octagonal structure was painstakingly moved to its present site in 1814.
De Krijtberg

Like many Catholic churches in Amsterdam, De Krijtberg (meaning Chalk Mountain) is known by its nickname rather than its official name, Franciscus Xaveriuskerk (after St Francis Xavier, a founding Jesuit monk); designed in 1884 by Alfred Tepe, it replaced a clandestine Jesuit chapel. It’s an impressive building, with an elegant, twin-steepled Neo-Gothic façade and an ornate interior that stands in marked contrast to the austerity of the city’s Protestant churches.
Desiderius Erasmus

Scholar and humanist (1466–1536). Friend of Thomas More, no friend of Luther.
Engelse Kerk

In the middle of the Begijnhof, the pretty English Reform Church got its name from the English (and Scottish) Presbyterians who worshipped there after it was requisitioned in 1578. There has been a church on this site since the end of the 14th century.
Entrepotdok

The flat brick façades of these typical 19th-century warehouses, punctuated by shuttered, arched windows, seem to stretch endlessly along the dockside. When owned by the Dutch East India Company (VOC), they were declared part of a free port, and no duties were levied here on cargoes in transit. Now they have been converted into offices and apartments, served by pleasant cafés and restaurants with tables outside in summer.
Felix Meritis

In 1777, the Felix Meritis society was founded to promote the arts and sciences. Ten years later, its wealthy members had this canal house specially built. To this day it stages international dance performances, theatre, lectures and electronic media events (see Felix Meritis Building).