Former City Archives

"If you have finished Roods completely and are not yet saturated with knowledge about enchanting Amsterdam, the city archive is the perfect destination. This magnificent building on Amsteldijk no longer has overflowing drawers of files. The current archive has found its home on Vijzelstraat and is still a lively source of information. This architectural gem near the Amstel River used to serve as the council house of the former municipality of Nieuw-Amstelland, which was later largely annexed by Amsterdam in 1896.

The history of this building is steeped in decision-making and political statement. Prior to the annexation of much of the municipality's territory in 1896, the municipality of Nieuwer-Amstel (now known as Amstelveen since 1964) reached as far as Ceintuurbaan and Van Baerlestraat in what is now Amsterdam-Zuid. The municipal council decided on 29 October 1886 to erect a new town hall. Between 1889 and 1892, this building was erected at the extreme outer border of the territory, as a symbolic affirmation of opposition to the desired area expansion of the Amsterdam municipality.

This archive is among the largest in the world, which is apparently a characteristic Dutch feature. Currently, this historic building has been given a new use as a five-star hotel, harmoniously merging the past and the present."