Hermitage Amsterdam
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| Hermitage Amsterdam | |
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| Established | 24 February 2004 (partial opening) 19 June 2009 (full opening) |
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| Location | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Type | Art museum |
| Visitor figures | 225,000 (2004) |
| Director | Ernst Veen |
| Public transit access | Waterlooplein metro station, Nieuwe Herengracht exit |
| Website | www.hermitage.nl |
Coordinates: 52°21′54″N 4°54′09″E / 52.365°N 4.9025°E
Hermitage Amsterdam or Hermitage on the Amstel (Dutch: Hermitage aan de Amstel) is a dependency of the Hermitage Museum of Saint Petersburg on the Amstel river in Amsterdam. The dependency is located at the former Amstelhof, a classical style building from 1681. The dependency has been displaying small exhibitions in a side building next to the Amstelhof since 24 February 2004. The full museum was opened on 19 June 2009.
It is currently the largest dependency of the Hermitage Museum,[1] with the total area of the building numbering 12,846 square metres (138,270 sq ft), and the exhibition area 2,172 square metres (23,380 sq ft) (two big exhibition halls and exhibition rooms).[2]
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[edit] History
The building was opened in 1682 as a retirement home for elderly women, and was named Diaconie Oude Vrouwen Huys (English: Deanery Home for Old Women). The building is located on the east bank of the river Amstel. Since 1817, the home was open for both elderly men and women, and it was renamed Diaconie Oude Vrouwen- en Mannenhuis (English: Deanery Home for Old Men and Women). The building was first named Amstelhof (English: Amstel Court) in 1953.[3]
For centuries, the building was used as a retirement home. Due to modernizations in healthcare, the building was no longer sufficient. The building was transformed into the museum when the last inhabitants left the Amstelhof in 2007.[4] On 19 June 2009, the whole museum was opened by Dutch Queen Beatrix and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. The museum was open to the public the following day.[5][6]
Already on 24 February 2004, a small museum was opened in an adjacent building on the Nieuwe Keizersgracht. This museum temporary closed in 2008 in order to be transformed into the Hermitage for Children. It opened on the same day as the rest of the Hermitage to the public, on 20 June 2009.
[edit] Exhibitions
There are two permanent presentations, one about Netherlands–Russia relations and the other about the history of the building Amstelhof.[7] In the rest of the museum is a temporary exhibition of half a year.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ Hermitage website - The formal opening of the Hermitage • Amsterdam Centre: Mikhail Piotrovsky is quoted as saying: "[The dependency in Amsterdam] is a part of the global strategy of the Hermitage to make our collections available in the world. We are organizing different centres. This centre is the largest."
- ^ Hermitage website - The Hermitage Amsterdam Centre - History of the project
- ^ http://www.hermitage.nl/en/hermitage_amsterdam/geschiedenis_van_het_gebouw.htm
- ^ http://www.hermitage.nl/en/hermitage_amsterdam/van_amstelhof_naar_hermitage_amsterdam.htm
- ^ Reuters.com - Russia's Hermitage museum opens Amsterdam branch
- ^ (Dutch) http://www.nrc.nl/kunst/article2277306.ece/Hermitage_Adam_geopend
- ^ http://www.hermitage.nl/en/pers/2e_fase/persberichten/informatie_vaste_presentaties.htm
- ^ http://www.hermitage.nl/en/pers/2e_fase/persberichten/jaarprogramma.htm
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hermitage Amsterdam |
- Hermitage Amsterdam, official website
- Section on the Amsterdam Hermitage on the official Hermitage Museum website
