The Het Scheepvaartmuseum, or the National Maritime Museum, in Amsterdam is dedicated to the rich maritime history of the Netherlands.
Het Scheepvaartmuseum - courtyard
Housed in a grand 17th-century naval storehouse, the museum is a masterpiece of Dutch classical architecture, designed by the renowned architect Daniël Stalpaert and completed in 1656. The building features a striking courtyard, which was covered with a glass roof during a major renovation in 2011, creating a luminous, open space that seamlessly blends historic and modern architectural elements. The glass roof, inspired by the compass lines on old nautical charts, was designed by Laurent Ney and is composed of 1200 pieces of glass.
Het Scheepvaartmuseum
Het Scheepvaartmuseum - staircase
Het Scheepvaartmuseum - staircase
With over 60,000 books, some of which are more than 500 years old, the library of the museum has one of the most important maritime related collections in the world.
library
library
The museum also features a replica of an 18th-century ship which sailed between the Netherlands and the East Indies, the Amsterdam, docked beside the museum.
replica of the "Amsterdam"
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