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The Royal Palace in Amsterdam is the official reception palace of H.M. King Willem-Alexander, which the State makes available to him for this use. Royal functions, such as state visits by foreign heads of state and award ceremonies, are held at the palace. For the rest of the year, it is open to the public. The building boasts an extraordinary collection of sculptures, paintings, and furniture in situ, as well as portraits, busts, ceramics, and chandeliers from the Royal Collections of the House of Orange.
The monumental building was designed as Amsterdam’s town hall by Jacob van Campen in the mid-seventeenth century. The maps of the world in the iconic Citizens’ Hall, the elaborate sculptural program by Artus Quellinus I and his studio, paintings by artists including Ferdinand Bol, Govert Flinck, and Jan Lievens, as well as later additions by Jacob de Wit, date from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In 1808, King Louis Napoleon converted the town hall into his royal palace. Today, its custom-made furnishings constitute the largest collection of Empire furniture outside France. Moreover, since the inauguration of King William I in 1813, outstanding artworks from the Royal Collections have been added to the interior, including portraits by Guillaume de Spinny, Lancelot Volders, Wybrand de Geest, and Gerard van Honthorst.
Marjan Pantjes, Curator (August 2023)