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, the museum is in a temporary spot called the Amstelhof building, located by the Amstel River. This is because its main building is being updated. It shares this temporary home with the H'ART Museum and a part of the Museum van de Geest.
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A Look Back: The Museum's History
The Amsterdam Museum first opened its doors in 1926. It was located in a very old building called the Waag. This building was one of Amsterdam's city gates from the 1400s.
Since 1975, the museum has been in a different building. This building used to be a convent, which is a place where religious people lived. From 1581, it became Amsterdam's city orphanage, a home for children without parents.
The Orphanage Building's Story
Famous architects like Hendrick de Keyser and his son Pieter de Keyser helped make the orphanage building bigger. Later, Jacob van Campen rebuilt parts of it in 1634. The orphanage stayed in this building until 1960. After that, it was turned into the museum we know today.
What You Can See: The Museum's Collection
The Amsterdam Museum shows many different things connected to Amsterdam's history. You can see items from the Middle Ages all the way up to the present day.
Special Items on Display
Many of the original items from the city orphanage are still there. You can also see artifacts from the Rasp house. This was a former house of correction in Amsterdam. Prisoners there had to rasp wood to make sawdust.
As of 2011, the museum looks after about 70,000 objects. These are kept in different buildings and storage areas. About 25,000 of these objects have been photographed. You can even see these pictures online!
Sharing History Online
To celebrate its name change in 2011, the museum did something special. It also marked Wikipedia's 10th birthday on January 15, 2011. The museum "gave" Wikipedia a USB stick with its online photo collection. This was a way to show that their high-quality digital photos were now free for everyone to use. This included pictures of two-dimensional art, which were already free to use. But now, photos of three-dimensional art were also made available.
Unique Exhibits
The museum displays paintings, models, and old things found by archaeologists. There are also many photographs. But you can find some really unique items too! These include a playable carillon (a musical instrument with bells). There's also a Witkar, which was an environmentally friendly vehicle from the 1960s. You can even see a replica of Café 't Mandje, a famous pub where many different people gathered.
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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, painting by Abraham de Vries can still be seen in the wall of the regent's room where it was installed in 1633.
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One of the modern galleries in Amsterdam Museum.
See also
In Spanish: Museo de Ámsterdam para niños
