Page 146 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - The Netherlands

144  A MSTERD A M

q Frankendael
Middenweg 72. Map 6 F5. v 9.
@ 41, 65, 101, 136, 152, 157.
Gardens: Open dawn–dusk.
-∑ huizefranendael.nl
During the early part of the 18th
century, many of Ams terdam’s
wealthier citizens built country
retreats south of Plantage
Middenlaan on reclaimed land
called the Watergraafsmeer.
The elegant Louis XIV-style
Frankendael is the last survivor.
The house is closed to the
public; the best views of the
ornamented façade are from
Middenweg. This is also the best
place to view the fountain made
in 1714 by Ignatius van Logteren
(1685–1732), a sculptor who,
along with his son, played a
central role in the development
of Amsterdam’s Louis XIV style.
The rear gardens have been
restored and are open to the pub-
lic. Behind the house is a small
formal garden, and beyond lies a
landscaped, English-style garden. The ornamental façade of Frankendael House
There are also allotment gardens.
The coach house is now home of imperialism, such as stone artist Gerrit Schouten’s 1819
to café-restaurant Merkelbach. friezes of peasants planting diorama made of papier-mâché
rice. Upon completion of the and painted wood depicts life
building’s renovation in 1978, in Suriname.
the Royal Tropical Institute
opened a museum, with a huge e Hermitage
cen tral hall and three levels of
gall eries. The institute’s aims are Amsterdam
to study and to help improve Amstel 51. Map 5 B2. Tel 020-530
the lives of the indigenous 8755. v 4, 9, 14. q Waterlooplein.
popu lations of the tropics. The 4 Muziektheater. Open 10am–
Ignatius van Logteren’s fountain in the dis plays focus on develop ment 5pm daily. & Free for under 11s.
grounds of the Frankendael issues regarding daily life, Closed 1 Jan, 27 Apr, 25 Dec. 7 0
education and colonization. - = ∑ hermitage.nl
The impressive mask
w Tropenmuseum collection includes feathered In the early 1990s the State
fertility masks from Zaire and Hermitage Museum in
Linnaeusstraat 2. Map 6 E3.
Tropenmuseum: Tel 0800-4280. carved wooden masks from St Petersburg, Russia, chose
Open 10am–5pm daily, 10am–3pm Central America. Surinamese Amsterdam as the ideal city
24 Dec, 31 Dec. Closed 1 Jan, 27 Apr, in which to open a satellite
5 May, 25 Dec. ∑ tropenmuseum.nl museum displaying tem porary
Tropenmuseum Junior: Tel 0800-4280. exhibitions drawn from the
Open for special programmes in Hermitage’s rich collection.
Dutch language only (phone or see It is housed in the former
website). Closed as Tropenmuseum. Amstelhof – a shelter for poor
v 9, 14. & 7 8 0 - = elderly women – and opened
∑ tropenmuseumjunior.nl in 2004 with a spectacular
exhibition of fine Greek gold
Built to house the Dutch jewellery from the 6th to the
Colonial Institute, this vast 2nd century BC. The museum,
complex was finished in which has an auditorium and
1926 by architects MA and a children’s wing, also has a fine
J Nieuwkerken. The exterior Balinese tiger protector mask and model restaurant, Neva, which is open
is decorated with symbols at the Tropenmuseum to non-visitors.
For hotels and restaurants in this area see pp396–7 and pp406–9

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