Scheepvaart Museum - The National Maritime Museum
In 1650 it was decided to build a naval dockyard on Kattenburg, the westernmost of the three reclaimed islands in the Oosterdok. In 1655 construction began on a naval warehouse, the 's Lands Zeemagazijn, at the southern end of the site. It was mainly used to store cannons, ropes and gunpowder. The building had become necessary after the Dutch had lost the first Anglo-Dutch War and the navy urgently needed to be professionalized to protect the merchant fleet. The foundation of the imposing Admiraliteits Magazijn, as it was also called, consisted of 2300 wooden piles, the building itself was made entirely of brick.
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At the beginning of the 18th century the Admiralty noticed that the arsenal was slowly sinking into the ground, a common problem with construction projects in Amsterdam. Some construction errors when laying the foundation stone, as well as the weight of the building and the peat soil of Amsterdam, led to a dangerous situation. To prevent further subsidence, buttresses were added to the base of the building and a porch was built on four sides of the building.
Illustration of the fire at the arsenal in 1791
In 1791, a large fire broke out and charred the entire building. Instead of demolishing it and building a new arsenal in its place, it was decided to plaster the building to imitate sandstone, creating the characteristic white appearance it has today.
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After the French invasion in 1795, the Dutch Admiralty was dissolved and a national navy was formed. The function of the arsenal also changed, now clothing and food were stored there. After the French withdrew, the building was handed over to the newly established Dutch Navy and remained under its control until 1973. In the same year, the Scheepvaartmuseum moved into the more than 300-year-old building.
The Scheepvaartmuseum or 's Lands Zeemazijn - past and present
The National Maritime Museum (Het Scheepvaartmuseum) is dedicated to the maritime history of the Netherlands and contains many artefacts related to shipping and sailing. The collection includes paintings, sea and world maps, scale models and weapons. The paintings show famous Dutch naval officers such as Michiel de Ruyter and historical naval battles.
The museum's map collection includes works by the famous 17th century cartographer Willem Blaeu and his son Joan Blaeu. The museum also has a preserved copy of the first edition of Maximilianus Transylvanus' work "De Moluccis Insulis", which was the first to describe Ferdinand Magellan's voyage around the world. The museum has over 400,000 visitors at peak times and was at one point the 11th most visited museum in the Netherlands.
In front of the museum lies a replica of an 18th century ship, the "Amsterdam", which travelled between the Netherlands and the East Indies for the VOC, the Dutch East India company. The original vessel couldn't even celebrate its one year of existence, as it sank in the English channel in 1749. A visit onboard gives an impression how life must have been on a cargo ship, which could transport up to 300 men.