Exploring Amsterdam's National Maritime Museum: What to See at Het Scheepvaartmuseum

Visitors wanting to understand how Amsterdam grew from a small settlement into a major trading port can explore the National Maritime Museum, known locally as Het Scheepvaartmuseum, located in the Eastern Docklands.

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Building History

The museum is housed in a former naval storehouse called s Lands Zeemagazijn on Kattenburg. Designed by city architect Daniel Stalpaert and built in 1656 as a storehouse for the Amsterdam Admiralty, the building stands on 2,300 wooden piles. A fire destroyed the interior in 1791, leaving only the outer walls, and the navy used the site until the early 1970s. Princess Beatrix opened the museum in April 1973, and a major renovation between 2007 and 2011 added a glass roof over the open courtyard.

The Open Courtyard and Layout

The Open Plein measures 34 by 34 metres and features around 1,200 panes of glass supported by steel lines patterned after old nautical compass charts. Visitors enter on the south side, which houses the entrance, information desk, shop, café-restaurant, and library. The remaining exhibitions are split across three wings: North, East, and West.

Museum Wings

• East Wing: Features ship models arranged as a sailing race, the Charting the Sea exhibition on nautical charts, Solebay tapestries designed by Willem van de Velde the Elder, ship decorations, figureheads, and navigational instruments shown under an artificial starry sky.

• West Wing: An interactive area featuring The Tale of the Whale, a children's story called Doris the Diver, and Amsterdam Port and City on the second floor.

• North Wing: Houses the Main Gallery with the Republic at Sea exhibition on the ground floor and Shadows on the Atlantic upstairs, which addresses colonial history and slavery. A jetty outside provides access to the museum ships, including a full-size replica of the Dutch East India Company ship, the East Indiaman Amsterdam.