Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
station restaurant Eerste Klas
(see p51)
serves full and light
meals in a splendid Art Nouveau
setting.
d
Stationsplein
•
Map P1
•
0900 9292
Beurs van Berlage
The innovative Stock
Exchange building was derided
when it was unveiled in 1903,
but is now considered a key
work of the period and almost
universally admired. Designed by
the pioneer of Dutch modern
architecture, H P Berlage, its
functional lines are softened by
ornamental ironwork and tiled
mosaics. The Stock Exchange
has now moved next door, and
Beurs van Berlage is home to
the Nederlands Philharmonic
Orchestra. It is used for concerts
and exhibitions, and contains a
permanent display on the history
of the Stock Exchange. Try to get
a look at the amazingly light and
spacious interior.
d
Damrak 277
•
Map N2
•
020 530 4141, 020 521 7575
(Nederlands Philharmonic box office)
•
www.beursvanberlage.nl
•
Open only
during exhibitions
•
Admission charge
Centraal Station
Centraal Station
For many visitors, their
experience of Amsterdam begins
at Centraal Station, the transport
hub of the city, where some
1,400 trains arrive and leave
every day. It was built in the
1880s in Neo-Renaissance style
by P J H Cuypers, who was also
responsible for the startlingly
similar Rijksmuseum
(see
pp12-15)
, and A L van Gendt,
designer of the Concertgebouw
(see p115)
. Before work on the
building could start, three
artificial islands had to be
constructed and 8,600 wooden
piles sunk to support them. The
fact that the building blocked
Amsterdammers' view of the
sea caused much controversy at
the time. The ornate red-brick
façade depicts themes of travel,
trade and city history, picked out
in gold and other colours. If you
have time to while away, the
Allard Pierson Museum
Located in a stately Neo-
Classical house built in the
1860s as a bank, this delightful
small museum was named after
the University of Amsterdam's
first Professor of Classical
Archaeology, and contains its
archaeological collection.
Fascinating exhibits conjure up
vivid pictures of life in ancient
civilizations; they include
Egyptian mummies and
sarcophagi, Coptic clothes,
Cypriot jewellery, Greek
geometric and red-figured
pottery, Etruscan metalwork and
Roman glassware and statuary.
One of the museum's attractions
is its size: even with an extra
Amsterdam's Colonial Past
Acknowledged during the 17th
century as the most powerful city
in the Netherlands, Amsterdam
turned its sights overseas.
Expeditions established a spice
trade out of Indonesia, and in 1602
the Dutch East India Company
(VOC) was founded, followed in
1621 by the Dutch West India
Company. Dutch colonies in Brazil
and on Manhattan Island eventually
succumbed, respectively, to
Portuguese and English sea-power.
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