Amsterdam Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 1926 |
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| Location | Amstelhof, Amstel, Amsterdam |
| Type | Heritage centre, Official Museums of Amsterdam, ICOM |
| Visitors | 199.322 (2010) |
The Amsterdam Museum is a cool place in Amsterdam that tells the story of the city, from way back in time to today! It used to be called the Amsterdam Historical Museum until 2010. Right now, its main building is getting a makeover. So, the museum is temporarily located in a building called the Amstelhof. This building is right by the Amstel River. It shares this spot with the H'ART Museum and a part of the Museum van de Geest.
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Discovering the Museum's Past
The Amsterdam Museum first opened its doors in 1926. Its very first home was in a building called the Waag. This old building was once one of Amsterdam's city gates from the 1400s.
A New Home for History
Since 1975, the museum has been located in a special building. This building was once a convent, a place where religious people lived. From 1581, it became Amsterdam's city orphanage. An orphanage is a home for children who don't have parents to care for them.
Building's Design and Use
Famous architects like Hendrick and his son Pieter de Keyser helped make the building bigger. Later, Jacob van Campen rebuilt parts of it in 1634. The orphanage stayed in this building for a long time, until 1960.
Exploring the Museum's Collection
The museum shows off many different items connected to Amsterdam's history. You can see things from the Middle Ages all the way up to today. Many of the original items from the old city orphanage are on display.
Unique Historical Items
You can also find artifacts from the Rasp house. This was a former correction house in Amsterdam. People there had to "rasp" wood to make sawdust. The museum helps us understand different parts of the city's past.
A Huge Digital Collection
As of 2011, the museum takes care of about 70,000 objects. These are kept in different buildings and storage areas. About 25,000 of these items have been photographed. You can even see these photos online!
Sharing History with Everyone
To celebrate its name change and Wikipedia's 10th birthday in 2011, the museum did something cool. It "gave" Wikipedia a USB stick with its online photo collection. This showed that they were making their high-quality digital photos available to everyone. This included photos of two-dimensional art that were already free to use. But it also added new photos of three-dimensional art.
What Can You See?
The museum has many interesting things on display. You can see paintings, models, and old items found from digging in the ground. There are also photographs. But you might also find less common items. For example, there's a playable carillon, which is a musical instrument with bells. There's also a Witkar, which was an environment-friendly vehicle from the 1960s.
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The coat of arms of Amsterdam above the entrance to the museum.
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Regents of the old city orphanage, a painting by Abraham de Vries. It was put in the regent's room in 1633 CE.
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One of the modern galleries inside the Amsterdam Museum.
See also
In Spanish: Museo de Ámsterdam para niños
