Page 126 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - The Netherlands

124  A MSTERD A M

1 Rijksmuseum
See pp126–9.

2 Coster Diamonds
Paulus Potterstraat 2–8. Map 4 E3.
Tel 020-3055555. v 2, 5. Open
9am–5pm daily. Closed 1 Jan, 25 Dec.
8 - ∑ costerdiamonds.com
One of Amsterdam’s oldest
diamond factories, Coster was
founded in 1840. Twelve years
later, Queen Victoria’s consort,
Prince Albert, honoured the Façade of the award-winning Concertgebouw (1881) by AL van Gendt
company by giving them
the task of repolishing the 5 Concertgebouw the building. Though primarily
enormous Koh-i-Noor (mountain Concertgebouwplein 2–6. Map 4 D4. designed to hold concerts, the
of light) diamond. This blue- Tel 0900-6718345. v 2, 3, 5, 12, 16. Concertgebouw also hosts
white stone is one of the Box office: Open 1–7pm Mon–Fri, business meetings, exhibitions,
treasures of the British crown 10am–7pm Sat & Sun. & ^ 7 by conferences, political meetings
jewels and weighs in at 108.8 arrangement. 8 5pm Mon, 12:15pm and occasional boxing matches.
carats. A replica of the Sun. ∑ concertgebouw.nl
coronation crown, which
incorporates a copy of the Following an open archi tectural
fabulous stone, is found in competition held in 1881, AL
Coster’s spacious entrance hall. van Gendt (1835–1901) was
More than 1,000 people visit chosen to design a vast new
the factory each day to witness concert hall for Amsterdam. The
the processes of grading, resulting Neo-Renaissance
cutting and polishing the building boasts an elaborate
stones. The goldsmiths and pediment and colonnaded
diamond-cutters work together façade, and houses two concert
in the factory to produce halls. Despite van Gendt’s lack of
customized items of jewellery, musical knowledge, he
in a range of styles, which are managed to produce near-
available over the counter. In perfect acoustics in the Grote Bandstand in Vondelpark, popular
the Diamond Museum, the Zaal (main concert hall), which among locals
history of the diamond is traced, is renowned the world over.
from its creation deep in the The inaugural concert at the 6 Vondelpark
earth to the dazzling stones Concertgebouw was held on Stadhouderskade. Map 4 E2.
that are a girl’s best friend. 11 April 1888, complete with v 1, 2, 3, 5,12. Park: Open 24hrs daily.
an orchestra of 120 musicians Open-air theatre: Open Jun–last week
and a choir of 600. A resident Aug: Wed–Sun.
orchestra was established at
the hall seven months later. In 1864, a group consisting of
The building has been prominent Amsterdammers
renovated several times over formed a committee with the
the years, most recently in 1983, aim of founding a public park,
when some serious subsi dence and they raised enough money
threatened the building’s entire to buy 8 ha (20 acres) of land. JD
foundation. To remedy this, the and LP Zocher, a father-and-son
Glistening diamonds at Coster Diamonds whole superstructure had to be team of landscape architects,
lifted up off the ground while were then commissioned to
3 Van Gogh the original supporting piles, design the park in typical
which rested on sand 13 m (43 ft)
English landscape style. They
Museum underground, were removed used vistas, pathways and
and replaced by concrete ponds to create the illusion of
See pp130–31.
piles sunk into the ground to a large natural area, which was
a depth of 18 m (59 ft). A glass opened to the public on 15
4 Stedelijk extension and new entrance June 1865, as the Nieuwe Park.
Museum were added by Pi de Bruijn in The park’s present name was
adopted in 1867, when a statue
1988. The original entrance was
See pp132–3. relocated round to the side of of Dutch poet Joost van den
For hotels and restaurants in this area see pp396–7 and pp406–9
124-125_EW_Netherlands.indd 124 16/01/17 12:04 pm
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.4)
Date 25th April 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm