Social Events

Housed in a strikingly palatial building, Amsterdam’s famous Rijksmuseum is the largest museum in the country and home to a world-renowned collection of art and artefacts. The prime attraction is the magnificent exhibit of Dutch paintings from the 17th century, the legendary Golden Age. Inspiring highlights include 20 works by Rembrandt, four by Vermeer and several others by such famous masters as Frans Hals and Jan Steen. The historical focal point of the museum is Rembrandt’s large and fascinating canvas, The Nightwatch. Many other additional treasures are on display to excite and intrigue. Of particular note is a superb collection of Delftware.

Rijksmuseum, The Masterpieces
From December 2003 to 2010 the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam will undergo the biggest rebuilding, renovation and modernisation program in its history. During this period the finest works from the 17th century in the Rijksmuseum will continue to be on view under the title ‘The Masterpieces’. The redesigned Philips Wing provides an opportunity to see 400 highlights of the Golden Age in surprising combinations. The famous dolls’ houses, the finest Delftware, a wealth of silver, icons of Dutch history and of course the paintings by the great masters of the 17th century, Frans Hals, Jan Steen, Vermeer and Rembrandt, have a provisional new home in the Philips Wing. For many of these works this is the first time that they have left their place in the Rijksmuseum. Rembrandt’s Night Watch, for example, has rarely left the main building (a design of Pierre Cuypers) since it opened in 1885.

Jan Luijkenstraat 1 - 1071 CJ Amsterdam
Link: Het Rijksmuseum

For almost twenty years Rembrandt van Rijn, Holland’s most renowned artist, lived and worked in this house on the Jodenbreestraat in Amsterdam. The historic interior of Rembrandt’s home and studio has been restored to its former glory and furnished with works of art and items from the master’s own time, including a collection of rare and exotic objects.

Rembrandt was one of the greatest graphic talents of all time. Admired by his contemporaries for the freedom and spontaneity of his drawing, his dramatic lighting effects and his technical experiments, Rembrandt has been a never-ending source of inspiration for other graphic artists throughout the centuries. The Rembrandt House Museum owns an almost complete collection of the artist’s etchings. A changing selection is on permanent display.

Jodenbreestraat 4 - 1011 NK Amsterdam
Link: Rembrandthuis

Jewish Historical Museum (Joods Historisch Museum)
Four restored synagogues in the heart of Amsterdam’s former Jewish quarter now house the Jewish Historical Museum. Its central themes are the eventful history of the Jews in the Netherlands and their colourful culture.

The Museum
The Jewish Historical Museum opened in 1932 at the Weigh House in Nieuwmarkt. In 1987 the museum moved to the synagogue complex on Nieuwe Amstelstraat, near Waterlooplein. This comprises two large and two smaller synagogues with an annex. The Great Synagogue is the oldest building, dating from 1671. In 1685 the Obbene Shul was added. The third synagogue (Dritt Shul) opened around 1700 and finally,
in 1752, the New Synagogue was built.

In 2007 the museum expanded the complex by building a basement under the New Synagogue, housing a Print Room and an Auditorium.

Permanent Displays
Religion is the title of the Great Synagogue presentation on Jewish customs for the Sabbath and festivals as well as key events in Jewish life, such as birth, coming of age, marriage and mourning. Beautiful ceremonial objects are displayed where they would have stood when this was a functioning synagogue. In short film clips Dutch Jews tell about their own religious experiences.

Nieuwe Amstelstraat 1 - 1011 PL Amsterdam
Link: Joods Historisch Museum

A Museum with a Story
Visit the hiding place where Anne Frank wrote her diary during the Second World War. For more than two years, Anne Frank lived secretively with the other people in hiding in the back part of her father’s office building at # 263 Prinsengracht. The Secret Annex has been preserved in its authentic state. The front part of the building – the offices where the helpers worked – has been restored to the style and ambiance of the war years. Quotations from the diary, photographs, films, and original objects - belonging to the people in hiding and those who helped them - all serve to illustrate the events that occurred at this location. Anne’s first diary is on display in the museum along with some of her other original notebooks.

Please note that tickets to the Anne Frank Museum are limited; please refer to the Social desk to obtain entrance tickets.

Prinsengracht 267 - 1016 GV Amsterdam
Link: Anne Frank Huis

The Stedelijk Museum CS (Central Station) is temporary located at the 2^nd and 3^rd floor of the Post CS-building. The Stedelijk Museum collects modern art for a national and international public. A currently running exhibition is 'Drawing Typologies' – Proposal for Municipal Art Acquisitions Drawings. This exhibition presents work by thirty contemporary artists who live and work in the Netherlands and employ drawing as a medium.

In the present exhibition – The Monique Zajfen Collection – the Stedelijk Museum works in tandem with the Broere Charitable Foundation on a collection of contemporary art which is provided to the museum on long-term loan.

Oosterdokskade 5 - 1011 AD Amsterdam
Link: Stedelijk Museum