{"id":9362,"date":"2016-04-22T23:29:51","date_gmt":"2016-04-22T15:29:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/?p=9362"},"modified":"2016-04-22T23:32:28","modified_gmt":"2016-04-22T15:32:28","slug":"royal-palace-amsterdam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/?p=9362","title":{"rendered":"Royal Palace, Amsterdam"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dam Square in Amsterdam can be considered the center of the town. It is dominated by the Royal Palace. Here is a Google Earth image.<\/p>\n

\"Dam<\/a><\/p>\n

This monumental building has not always been a palace. It was built in the seventeenth century as the Town Hall of Amsterdam and functioned as such for 150 years.\u00a0For a long time it was the largest administrative building in Europe and considered by many the Eight Wonder of the World<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In 1808 Louis Napoleon, brother of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, became King of Holland and converted the Town Hall into a Palace. Not for long, in 1813, after the fall of Napoleon, the Kingdom of the Netherlands<\/a> was established and the former town hall became a Palace of the Royal House\u00a0of Orange. Nowadays it is a ceremonial palace, still in use for the inauguration of a new\u00a0monarch<\/a> and other official functions.<\/p>\n

Left a painting of the Town Hall as it was in 1673, right\u00a0the present situation.<\/p>\n

\"Berckheyde_-_Het_stadhuis_op_de_Dam_te_Amsterdam_(1673)\"<\/a>\"2016-04-13<\/a>
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When not in use, part of the palace is open to the public. Here is a map of the main floor.<\/p>\n

\"Map\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The impressive Burgerzaal (Citizens Hall) was the center of the Town Hall, freely accessible for the citizens of Amsterdam. Galleries lead to the various administrative offices<\/p>\n

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\"2016-04-13<\/a><\/p>\n

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Ceilings and upper parts of the walls are decorated by paintings of famous Dutch Golden Age artists<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t\t