ROYAL PALACE, Introduction

Hi, my name’s Scott, and I’m your personal guide. Along with MyWoWo, I’d like to welcome you to one of the Wonders of the World: the Royal Palace

The Royal Palace of Amsterdam is considered an absolute masterpiece of Dutch Baroque and of its architect, Jacob van Campen.

In the 17th century, when the palace was built, the Netherlands was actually a republic, and it was to serve as the new City Hall, replacing an earlier Gothic building. It did not become a royal palace until 1808, when Napoleon conquered the Netherlands and placed his brother Louis on the throne of Holland. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1813, it became the residence of the Dutch royal family, who since 1981, however, have lived in a large villa near The Hague.

This enormous City Hall, built on 13,659 wooden piles driven into the ground to strengthen it, symbolized the independence and power of the country, which was at the peak of its political and commercial success.

The famous Jacob van Campen, the leading architect of the Dutch Golden Age and heavily influenced by classical Italian models, presented an ambitious project, inspired by the City Hall of Antwerp, in Belgium, and built the largest administrative building of the time....