De Bazel

Space has always been at a premium in Amsterdam, hence the tendency of 17th century canal houses to be built tall and narrow.  A vast 10-storey building greedily spanning a whole block is therefore something remarkable.  Even more remarkable when that building is a monumental, extravagantly-striped ziggurat - an imposing, somewhat forbidding fortress bestriding Vijzelstraat between the Herengracht and the Keizergracht. This is 'De Bazel' - named after its architect Karel de Bazel.

The facade is striped - alternating red and sand-coloured brick, cladding a concrete frame, towering up from a granite base.  The top two storeys recede inwards, in true Mesopotamian style. Statues by Joseph Mendez da Costa and Lambertus Zijl stand on either side of the main entrance and at the two corners of the building.

So how did such a strangely incongruous building come to be built within the historic 17th century canal girdle of Amsterdam?

De Bazel was built as the head office of the Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij (Netherlands Trading Society) from 1919-1926. The NHM was very active in the trade of goods from the Dutch colonies, and was seen as a successor to the Dutch East India Company (VOC).

As trade in colonial goods became less important over the course of the 20th century, the building became a regular bank, first the Algemene Bank and then the ABN-AMRO. Since 2006 the building has been home to Amsterdam's public record office - De Stadsarchief.

Since my first ever visit to Amsterdam in the 1980's I always wondered what was inside this behemoth. Since living in Holland, I have walked past it hundreds of times without ever venturing in - the exterior is hardly welcoming.

It was only when I became friends with an employee of the Stadsarchief that I ventured inside de Bazel. And what a treat lies therein!

The interior of de Bazel is light and airy, thanks to two immensely high light courts. The walls are painted in immaculate white, the staircases are lined with marble and stained glass, the floor resplendent with glazed mosaic tiles.  On the ground floor is the reception, an excellent City bookshop and a pleasant cafe (try the vegetable soup!).

De Bazel's inspiration was his theosophical study of nature and divinity, combined with ideas inspired by an exhibition of Ancient Egyptian artifacts in the the British Museum. He used light and symbols to convey a spiritual message. He also threw in every mod-con available in the 1920s - hot and cold running water in the washrooms, central heating, air co, elevators, telephone kiosks and little lights over the doors of the directors' rooms to indicate - 'Do Not Disturb'!

In the basement of Be Bazel is the jewel in the crown - the Treasury.  This is part Gringotts, part Egyptian Throne Room - just magnificent with its art deco tiling, mosaic floors and imposing staircase. It currently hosts an exhibition on famous Amsterdammers (Anne Frank for instance) and Amsterdam events of the 20th Century.

The second floor is home to the Directors' Rooms - offices, meeting rooms, lunchrooms and a library.

The Koningszaal (King's Chamber) is particularly elegant.  This was where the Dutch Royal family - King William I and Queen Emma - would be welcomed when they visited to handle their financial affairs.

The stained glass windows are by Antoon Derkinderen (who also designed windows for De Beurs van Berlage).

While all these Directors' rooms are harmoniously furnished with simple elegance in shades of green, with rich wood panelling and late-19th century paintings, there is one room on this floor which is completely at odds with the rest. This is the Italian Room.

When the NHM commissioned De Bazel they let this established architect have free rein, but with one exception - they wanted their Italian Board Room entirely transplanted from their previous location.  Bazel was not at all pleased! This is a room of rococo fancy - all pastel romanticism, cupids, biblical scenes and ornate gilded chandeliers.  Worst of all, the room needs to be a good meter higher than the others on this storey to accommodate the fixtures and fittings.  De Bazel had to raise the ceiling and spoil his perfect exterior symmetry by including three non-standard size windows. But this was the deal breaker - no Italian Room - no commission.  De Bazel sited this room in a rear corner on the Keizergracht, and presumably ground his teeth and shook his grey locks in frustration.

The three non- standard windows of the Italian room are to be seen at tree height on the left.


At present, the Italian Room is used as a conference room, complete with flat screens and an enormous 30-person glass disc-shaped table by Renzo Piano (designer of Amsterdam's NEMO museum and the Pompidou Centre in Paris).
I think this ultra modern conference table really works in the rococo setting.  It certainly looks much better than the  original darker wood furniture that was originally installed in the 1920's (which also did not fit the 18th century decor).  The new combination is a bit like the glass Pyramid in the Louvre - so out of context that it actually works.

All these rooms are available for hire for conferences and business events and it is pleasing to see flip charts, flat screens and the typical Dutch coffee-milk and sugar containers on the meeting tables. This is not just a monument; this is a working building!

All in all, this is an excellent building, and one can only envy the employees of the Stadsarchief their elegant workplace.

After much political wrangling, in 2012 the Stadsarchief finally received approval to make a larger, more welcoming entrance to the building. It seems Ambrosia was not the only person to walk past without daring to enter. This rebuilding is due to be finished in 2013 and will hopefully mean that more visitors come in to enjoy the treasures, the cafe and the bookshop.

An Information Centre is available for tracing Amsterdam history or genealogical research and a study room is provided for viewing and copying archived documents.

The Stadsarchief is open to the public on Tuesday to Friday from 10.00 until 17.00 and on Saturdays and Sundays from 12.00 until 17.00. Admission to the Treasury, information centre and film auditorium are free, but there is a small charge to visit special exhibitions such as a recent display of Cor Jarling photographs of swinging Amsterdam in the 60's and 70's (John and Yoko's bed-in at the Hilton, the Provos, etc.).

On Saturdays and Sundays at 14.00 there are tours of the building (in Dutch) - a great chance to hear the history of de Bazel first hand and to nose around the Director's rooms. Current price 6 euros for adults, free for children up to 16 years. Recommended! Tours for groups can also be arranged, but need to be booked in advance.

Full programme available at:
 https://stadsarchief.amsterdam.nl/english/exhibitions/index.en.html

The Beurs van Berlage

Stepping out from Amsterdam Central Station and heading down Damrak towards Dam Square, one can't help but notice the monumental redbrick building to the left.  With its crisp clean lines and boxy shape, this building just looks 'modern'.  It never ceases to amaze me that this building - the Beurs van Berlage - was built only 14 years after Central Station. The station is built in Cuypers' Neo-Renaissance style harking back to the Dutch Golden Age - all gilded carvings, Gothic spires and symmetrical towers.

The Beurs is a different beast altogether.  Built in 1903 as a stock exchange, the Beurs was shockingly new at the time, casting off historical styles and making a strong architectural statement.  Berlage felt that ornament should mirror function, so any embellishments should accentuate keystones, lintels and consoles, rather than adorning purely ornamental facades.

As well as being an architectural statement, the Beurs is also a political statement.  This monumental block is completely constructed from small red bricks, symbolising 'eenheid in veelheid' - 'power through cooperation', or 'strength in numbers'.  This democratic philosophy completely fits with Amsterdam, a city known since the 17th century for pragmatism, tolerance and social commitment.

The Beurs was built to replace an existing stock exchange, which although less than 50 years old was already far too small and generally disliked. (It was known by Amsterdammers as 'the mausoleum'!) An international design competition was held in 1883, and after much wrangling, H.P. Berlage won the commission. The build started in 1898 and was completed in 1903.  Amsterdammers were bemused: could this sober, plain building really be finished?  Where were the gilded curlicues, minarets and fancy mouldings? Some said this red monolith looked more like a slaughterhouse!

H.P. Berlage is regarded as the father of modern Dutch architecture, aspiring to create communal, practical, refined buildings unifying art with everyday life.  Berlage's constructive rationalism was influenced by the French designer Eugene Violett-la-Duc and later by Frank Lloyd Wright, but went on to inspire the Amsterdam School of architecture and the group known as de Stijl.

So, from the outside, what are the key features?  Simple, elegant boxy shapes, brick, brick and more brick, an Italianate bell tower set to one side of the main entrance and a few understated natural stone embellishments. 

The literal 'cornerstones' of the Beurs are statues of three of Amsterdam's great heroes: Gijsbrecht van Amstel (13th Century defender of Amsterdam), J.P. Coen (leading light in the Dutch East India Company in the 17th Century) and Hugo de Groot (17th century philosopher and founder of international law).

The proportions of the Beurs are based on the 'Egyptian triangle', for centuries associated with aesthetic beauty, and there is a distinct reference to Ancient Egypt in some of the stone carvings over the side entrance.

Inside, the brickwork again takes prominence - millions of tiny bricks, both glazed and unglazed, fashioned into decorative motifs and accented by wrought iron, terracotta reliefs, ceramic friezes and stained glass. The multicoloured glazed bricks are so attractive, they are sometimes referred to as wall carpets!

The Beurs contains three main trading halls - the largest is the Grote Zaal - a massive space spanned by arched steel girders.  A statue of Mercury, the god of trade and abundance, presides over the activities below.  This hall is now used for congresses, exhibitions and major events such as Amsterdam Fashion Week.  It most famously hosted the civil wedding ceremony of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima on 2 February 2002.

Two smaller halls contain the Effectenbeurs (commodities) and the Graanbeurs (grain). Ceramic friezes reflect the functions of each hall.  The larger hall is used by the Dutch Philharmonic Orchestra for concerts and rehearsals. The Graanbeurs was previously used specifically for chamber music concerts and used to contain a suspended glass auditorium which optimized acoustics, without obscuring the view of the original architecture.

The main entrance to the Beurs (opposite the Bijenkorf) is now a Grand Cafe.  This is decorated by three ceramic friezes by Jan Toorop, depicting Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.  The friezes show progress towards emancipation of both women and the working man. 

On a sunny day, a trip up the bell tower is well worth the climb.  There are excellent views of busy Damrak, plus ever-bustling Dam Square, The Bijenkorf, Central Station, the Ouderkerk and beyond. There is also a mighty great bell!

A full guided tour of the Beurs is available once a month on Saturday/Sunday mornings (10.30-12.00).  This is well worth booking as you not only get the full history from a very knowledgeable guide, but also you get to see some of the rooms which are normally off limits: the Keurzaal (with a great view over Damrak),and the Berlagezaal on the second floor with its impressive stained glass windows, chandeliers and carpet featuring the Amsterdam coat of arms.

A tour provides a good opportunity to focus on some of the smaller details of the Beurs: the terracotta reliefs, keystones and statues by Lambertus Zijl and Joseph Mendes da Costa, the ceramic friezes by Jan Toorop, the inscribed verses by Albert Verwey, the wall-paintings by Richard Roland Holst and the stained glass windows by Antoon Derkinderen.  Many lamps, pieces of furniture and wrought iron work were designed by Berlage himself.


Stained glass window
by Antoon
Derkinderen, Grote Zaal

Frieze by Jan Toorop, Corn Exchange









Relief by Lambertus Zijl over Main Entrance,
Beursplein
Verses by Albert Verwey, carved by Lambertus Zijl.




Keystone by Lambertus Zijl
Berlage Foyer

At present a tour costs 14.50 euros which includes a hot drink in the cafe. The tour is advertised as being conducted in Dutch, but the guides can usually cover the main points in English too.

Further details available at:
http://www.beursvanberlage.nl/Discover/Guided-tour/#.VTN5YJPIDzs

Places are limited, so it isimportant to book in advance.

In general the Beurs van Berlage commands respect - here is a ground-breaking piece of architecture, designed for the purpose of trade and commerce, yet aspiring towards a fair and egalitarian society. All ornamentation is discreet, refined and in context.

Hooray for Berlage!  Although at the time, Berlage was criticised and there was a backlash against his work (the commission for the neighbouring Bijenkorf and new commodities exchange went to other 'less modern' architects), the Beurs has stood the test of time. 

In 2006, Amsterdam newspaper 'Het Parool' declared the Beurs van Berlage to be 'De Nachtwacht van de Architectuur' (in comparison with Rembrandt's 'The Nightwatch'). Praise indeed!





Arti et Amicitiae

Some Amsterdam monuments you can't miss. Most are well sign-posted, widely advertised and well covered by all the guidebooks.  Yet I just discovered a spectacular historic interior hidden inside a building that I have been walking past for years - Rokin 112 - the home of Arti et Amicitiae.

Arti et Amicitiae is an association for artists and art lovers, established in 1839. Their aim is to promote the visual arts and to improve the social and economic position of artists in society.  The association was (and is) important in the Dutch art world - in 1893 the A&A organised one of the first retrospectives of Van Gogh's work, and in 1876 they were involved in awarding the commission for the new Beurs - the Amsterdam Stock Exchange - to Berlage.

Since 1840, the association has been based in this imposing neoclassical building on the Rokin, at the corner of Spui.  The building is monumental - all ionic columns, classical statues and topped by a pediment bearing the A&A crest. 

The entrance to the A&A doesn't look promising:  all a bit run down, if truth be told.  Has the association now become an artists' doss house I wondered.  On peeping in through the interior doors, someone buzzed the door open, and so I cautiously ventured in.

It was like entering another world. The Entrance Hall is a thing of beauty - all polished wood panelling, checkered floor tiles, stained glass and gleaming chandeliers.   I had read that the staircase was designed by H. P. Berlage (he who designed the Beurs), and here it is in all its elegant glory. 

The newel post is particularly attractive, headed by this seductive female form.

At the top of the staircase are panels listing past A & A Presidents - all the big names of Dutch architecture are there: Salm, Olie, Kromhout, Cuypers, de Bazel, Berlage... Members over the years have included important Dutch artists too, including Jan Sluiters, Jan Toorop, Isaac Israels, Laurens Alma-Tadema and the great Piet Mondriaan.

As I stood gawping at the staircase, a very helpful custodian greeted me and invited me to view the meeting room and the exhibition upstairs. So strange that this place is open to the public at weekends and yet so poorly publicised and signposted.

The A&A Society Meeting Room is extremely atmospheric - one can picture artists and architects gathered around the large tables in lively discussions.  Indeed I returned on a weekday lunchtime and the place was packed out with members.

Much of the furniture is original, some designed by Berlage, including these unusual round backed chairs (very comfortable as well as good-looking).

To one side of the Society room is a smaller public room, now known as the smoking room (I didn't need to be told this - this room reeks of ashtrays!).

On climbing the stairway, there is a different feel altogether. This is a brilliant white, completely modern gallery space featuring current Dutch artists.  The exhibition I saw was very good, very varied, and (to my mind) the pieces were not badly priced. Again a puzzle why there isn't greater publicity. Even searching the A&A newsletter and the website I have not found any reference to these works.

So there we have it. A small but perfectly formed treasure hidden away in a very busy place.  Admission was free and so I would advise anyone with an interest in the designs of Berlage, modern art or historic Amsterdam art hangouts to pop in on a weekend afternoon and have a look.

In a way, it pleased me to think of all the big guns of Dutch architecture meeting in this splendid place.  At least they could support each other, as most of the great and truly revolutionary architectural designs of Amsterdam were ripped to shreds by critics at the time of unveiling. 

Central Station?  Too Catholic! Blocks our nice view of the harbour!
The Beurs?  Too plain! Too boxy! Looks like an abattoir!
De Bazel?  Too big! Too striped! Too monumental!
Tuschinski Theater? Too flamboyant! Too fancy! A hotch-potch of styles!
The Stopera - Not in-keeping with its surroundings! Too expensive!
The new Stedelijk Gallery?   A ridiculous bathtub!

And so on... Maybe this is why the A&A like to keep keep themselves to themselves!

Hollandsche Manege

This has to be one of the most surprising places in Amsterdam.  Along a quiet, affluent street just beside the Vondel Park there is a row house with a gateway rather than a front door.  The sign above the gateway reads 'Manege' (stables).

Enter through the archway and it is like entering the Tardis - this is not just a stable, suddenly one is is transported to the Spanish Riding School of Vienna!

This incredible indoor riding arena was indeed based on the famous Austrian landmark.  It was designed by A. L. van Gendt in 1882 in renaissance style.  Van Gendt was a big name in architecture at the end of the 19th century, designing both the Concertgebouw and the Stadschouwberg in a last hurrah of nostalgic design, before Cuypers, Berlage, de Klerk and co. revolutionised Amsterdam architecture.

The indoor arena is used for classical dressage events, but also for normal riding lessons.  When I visited on a Saturday afternoon, three little girls were being put through their paces - it was like a beginners' ballet lesson on the stage of the Covent Garden Opera House!

There are over 60 horses stabled at the manege, and even to they untrained eye, they look like top of the range models.

Above the stables and tack room there is an elegant cafe, reached by a graceful stairway. There is a real conflict of the senses - the eyes tell you one thing, the nose another.  Is this a stately monument or a farmyard!

As you can guess, Ambrosia is not an equine aficionado, I was more there for the building than the livestock, but never mind - I was still very impressed! As a monument, the Hollandsche Manage is magnificent, and the equestrian events here must be truly spectacular.  This is the oldest riding school in the Netherlands and I'm sure the riding lessons are second to none.

And who would have thought this jewel could be hidden away just a few minutes form the busy Leidseplein. Certainly not me!



De Drie Graefjes

My personal road to hell is paved with cake. Sad, but true. And one place destined to speed me to my destination is De Drie Graefjes, Rokin 128.

This small venue calls itself a 'Lunchroom, High Tea and American Bakery'. I prefer to call it 'The Devil's Cake Shop'!

Look at that window display! If that isn't temptation, I don't know what is! Decadence, glamour and calorific fabulosity on a cake stand.  Stand aside and let me feast!

Cupcakes - just take your pick - everyone an individual work of art. Luxuriate in their calorific glow:

There is a cake on the menu called 'Red Velvet'- a rich, dark red, moist sponge, three layers high, sandwiched with thick vanilla butter icing.  Sorry - no photo, had to dive straight into it!  A portion of this is enough to set anyone up for the day (or week!)  Ambrosia couldn't manage a whole piece, and that is a first! The kind waitress was quite happy to pack the rest up for us to enjoy at home, so I doubt if I was the first to be beaten by this leviathan.

There is a full lunch menu: sandwiches, salads, soups... all delicious I'm sure, but I can't get past the cakes.  There is also a particularly nice selection of teas to go with. Try the lychee.

The ambiance of the Drie Graefjes is pleasant. Golden glittery lamps and a golden glittery panel behind the bar.  Very nice, if you can take your eyes off your plate.  There are a couple of tables outside, but I wouldn't recommend sitting out on busy Damrak, with trams clanging past every two minutes.

Having checked out De Drie Graefjes website (http://www.dedriegraefjes.nl/), I found that they have another branch just off Dam Square in Eggertstraat (behind the Nieuwe Kerk). The room upstairs is particularly nice - overlooking the pedestrian street behind the church. Same menu, different setting - this time I remembered to photograph the interior!

This location is even nicer (a quiet corner very close to the main square) and the building dates back to 1860.

 

Here are two of my favourite cupcakes.

Museum Het Schip

On paper this does not sound very inspiring - a social housing project, an old post office and a lunchroom... a kilometre trek off the beaten track from the tourist trail. No, this probably does not make the to-do-list of many Amsterdam visitors.  What a pity!  Pick a sunny day, put on your comfy shoes and head west to the Spaarndammerplantsoen.  If you loved Gaudi's Barcelona and Hundertwasser's Vienna, do not miss de Klerk's Amsterdam!

When Amsterdam embraced the industrial revolution, hoards of workers moved into the city from the surrounding farms. As in many other cities, cheap poor- quality housing built for profit started to spring up.  To its eternal credit, Holland introduced the Housing Act in 1901, imposing stringent requirements for workers' accomodation. Housing associations were given the responsibility for most building projects. In Amsterdam, Alderman Wibaut was keen to provide the workers with not just adequate housing, but something attractive and inspiring.  The architect Michel de Klerk was asked to design a series of housing blocks to the west of the city in the Spaarndammerplantsoen.

De Klerk had already been involved in the first building of the Amsterdam School - the Scheepvaarthuis.  This was a prestige project, financed by the wealthy shipping companies.  De Klerk took the basic tenets seen in the Scheepvarthuis - imaginative brickwork, wrought-iron, expressionist sculpting of stone - and applied them to workers' apartment blocks.

Ordinary red brick, roof tiles, stone and glass are transformed into an exciting, charming, extremely liveable neighbourhood just through the force of imagination. Well done Michel de Klerk!

Unlike Berlage's somewhat austere brickwork, de Klerk produces something organic and playful - undulating facades, spiralling balconies, curving walkways and an amusing bulbous outgrowth known as 'the cigar'.

As with the Scheepvaarthuis, de Klerk employed the sculptor Hildo Krop to add some symbolic flourishes - storks carved into the brickwork of the post office, an archer symbolising the hunting of knowledge above the door of a school.  De Klerk decided that there was no reason why windows had to be square - we see  a fishtail window, arrow-shaped windows, all made from lots of tiny panes.

The area was split into apartment blocks governed by the various factions or 'pillars' of Dutch society.  There were Catholic blocks, Protestant blocks and 'Socialist' blocks. De Klerk's development was for the Socialists.  De Klerk thought that this group should have their own secular equivalent of a church spire, so he built 'de piek', a functionless tower of red tiles - just for the fun and because it looks impressive!

At the pointy end of the trianguar block (the prow of 'Het Schip') de Klek built a post office.  This is preserved in its original form by Museum Het Schip.  The original phone booth is still there - tiled in carrier-pigeon blue. This cubical allowed people to arrange to speak to friends and relatives in far-off places.  It might have taken months to arrange, but at least contact was possible.

The Museum organises tours round the main block, plus the post office and the interior of one of the workers' appartments next to the piek.  The appartment is simply, but attractively decorated with 1920's furniture.  There is Vim in the kitchen and some very desirable Art Deco crockery on the sideboard. 

Upstairs is an exhibition about the Amsterdam School and the social housing movement - both in English and Dutch with detailed hand-outs available in French, German, Spanish and Japanese.  There are also display-cases showing the biological specimens that inspired de Klerk - the shells are particularly recognisable in his designs.

From 11.00 until 17.00 there is a tour every hour, Tuesday to SundayThe tour takes about 45 minutes and costs 7.50 euros.  The Saturday tour at 11.00 is guaranteed to be in English, but the guides do try to cater for different languages. The tour ends at the Schip lunchroom just across the road from the Post Office.  Pick a sunny day (the red brick looks much nicer against a blue sky), and walk to the Schip from Amsterdam Central Station in about 20 minutes.  The best way to get there is to walk along the Haarlemmer Straat, which is one of the nicest shopping streets of Amsterdam - full of quirky shops.

For further details of the tour, go to the Museum Het Schip website:  
 http://www.hetschip.nl/en/activities/guided-tours

'De Burcht'

Just a few hundred metres away from Artis - Amsterdam's famous zoo - lies a hidden treasure. Another fantastic building by H.P. Berlage, possibly even lovelier than the Beurs on Damrak.  This stronghold, this fortress, is known as 'De Burcht' and is modestly hidden away in a quiet, leafy, residential street.

As with the Beurs van Berlage, the key materials are brick and natural stone. There is no superfluous decoration.  The inspiration is from Renaissance Italy  and the building is designed with deep social commitment and thoughtful alignment of design with function.

De Burcht was built in 1898-1900 for the Dutch Diamond Workers Trade Union - one of the first trade Unions in The Netherlands.  The founder of the Diamantbewerkers-bond was Henri Polak, a Jewish Social Democrat politician, the son of a diamond cutter. Unlike many other countries, the Dutch Trade Union Movement advanced its cause without conflict, always aiming to improve working conditions via mutual understanding and compromise. Polak and Berlage worked together to build a citadel to the workers' movement.

So, from the outside we see a square tower, battlements and an impressive staircase leading up to an arched doorway. The windows are neatly grouped in threes.  The tower features a round window with a lamp in the shape of a diamond, and the Union's ANDB logo (designed by Berlage) sits proudly over the entrance.

Go through the front door and the interior is breathtaking.The hall and stairway are resolutely cheerful in shades of yellow and pale blue brick, complemented by elegant stone masonry. As with the Beurs, all the bricks are beautifully glazed and their arrangement is skillful (the yellow gets lighter the further up the building you go). Looking up there is a huge 12 metre long lamp hanging from the ceiling right down three floors.
 

Across from the main entrance is a magnificent stained glass doorway depicting the toils of the diamond worker.

The main room on the ground floor is the Council Assembly Room.  In addition to the brickwork (red and green this time), this room is remarkable for the Art Nouveau style paintings by Richard Roland Holst, a follower of William Morris. These paintings are inspirational, urging the worker on in a fight against misery, oppression and corruption. Solidarity, steadfastness, trust and sacrifice are shown leading to hope and enthusiasm. Just as in the Beurs, there are images depicting progress from yesterday to today and forward onto tomorrow, and there is a definite message promoting equality for women.

Climbing up to the second and third floors, the views of the staircase get better and better, framed on four sides by the balustrades and elegant arches.  There is something of Escher in this staircase!

On the second floor is a Board Room, again decorated by Roland Holst.  the paintings symbolise the healthy balance of hard work, well-earned relaxation and refreshing sleep. The furniture and lamps are designed by Berlage.

On the top floor, the stairwell is decorated by wall paintings - five medallions: mindfulness, liberality,  unity, steadfastness and (in the centre) the ANDB monogram.

Overall, De Burcht gives a great sense of inspiration: a feeling of everyone working together for a common cause. Indeed the ANDB was highly effective, achieving a minimum wage for diamond workers, insurance in case of sickness, invalidity and death, an 8-hour working day and one week's paid vacation per year. Many diamond workers were introduced to politics via the ANDB and joined the Social Democratic Labour Party.  Henri Polak also strove to educate the workers, providing a library in the union building, and organising excursions to exhibitions, concerts and plays.

Sadly, Polak, despite his importance in the Union movement and in his industry, was persecuted by the Nazis because he was Jewish. He died of a lung infection before he could be transported to a concentration camp, but his wife was transported and died in Westerbork.

From the 1920s onwards, Amsterdam began to lose its leading position in the world diamond trade. Antwerp became the centre of the diamond trading industry.  The ANDB fell into a gradual decline.

Since 1991, The Burcht became the home to the Trades Union Museum, but can also be hired for conferences and meetings. It is also an official wedding location (just think of the photo opportunities!)  Guided tours are available, but only once a month on either a Saturday or Sunday.  Price 7.50 euros. A reservation is necessary - checkout the website: www.deburcht.nl.