Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Beurs van Berlage was designed as a commodity exchange by architect Hendrik Petrus Berlage and constructed between 1896 and 1903. It influenced many modernist architects, in particular functionalists and the Amsterdam School. It is now used as a venue for concerts, exhibitions and conferences.

The building is constructed of red brick, with an iron and glass roof and stone piers, lintels and corbels. Its entrance is under a 40m high clock tower, while inside lie three large multi-storey halls formerly used as trading floors, with offices and communal facilities grouped around them.

The aim of the architect was to modify the styles of the past by emphasizing sweeping planes and open plan interiors. It has stylistic similarities with some earlier buildings, for instance St Pancras station and the work of H. H. Richardson in America, or the Castell dels Tres Dragons, Barcelona, by Lluís Domènech i Montaner. True to its nineteenth-century roots, it maintains the use of ornament in a civic structure.

On 2 February 2002 the civil ceremony of the wedding of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Máxima Zorreguieta took place in the Beurs van Berlage.

The Beurs van Berlage has a café located on the Beursplein side and the tower is also open to the public.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

photocetera (20 months ago)
A beautiful heritage building, very well maintained and with all the necessary endowments. Large and beautiful interior spaces with iconic decorations. Spaces can be restricted for smaller events or open. Lights were instaled in a very creative manner.

Jonathan Munoz (2 years ago)
Highly recommended whilst in Amsterdam. Enjoy and take in the beautiful history and art.

Alma Cilurzo (2 years ago)
Amazing venue. We had a convention in this place - breathtaking! The location is just perfectly located in amsterdam.

Pablo Costa Tirado (2 years ago)
It is a really good venue for conferences and events. It is located in the city centre, has spacious rooms and a great main area. The problem is the capacity is not that high, anything beyond 1300 people it's too much IMO.

Bernadette Van Dal (2 years ago)
We organized an event there but the place is more like a center for conventions for CEO's and not really able to host events with music. The sound (even though they have really expensive equipment) was not good. Maybe it would work for a spoken even but it does not work for music. The main hall looks like a big empty room. The architecture is great but boring if you do not rent external decor, with just a big screen, a bar, and little niches.Another point was the long cues for tokens. You can't pay at the bar and you will have to do cues both at the token machines and at the bar. Basically you will spend your time there by doing cues like receiving soup during the war or something. The machines will work even if the bar closes and tokens are not refundable. You will have to buy a minimum number of tokens and then you are stuck with tokens, they will be some pieces of plastic of no value whatsoever. Closing of the bar is not announced. Bad quality of money making I guess. I would have given 0 stars just for this. And millions, trillions of security guards. It gives you paranoia feelings just to be there. Some really like it here, but it was certainly not working for me. It has an image of a classy venue and actually it smells of sewage.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Dan Lundberg

Historic Site of the week

Hagios Demetrios

The Church of Saint Demetrius, or Hagios Demetrios, is the main sanctuary dedicated to Saint Demetrius, the patron saint of Thessaloniki. It is part of the site Palaeochristian and Byzantine Monuments of Thessaloniki on the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO since 1988.

The first church on the spot was constructed in the early 4th century AD, replacing a Roman bath. A century later, a prefect named Leontios replaced the small oratory with a larger, three-aisled basilica. Repeatedly gutted by fires, the church eventually was reconstructed as a five-aisled basilica in 629–634. This was the surviving form of the church much as it is today. The most important shrine in the city, it was probably larger than the local cathedral. The historic location of the latter is now unknown.

The church had an unusual shrine called the ciborium, a hexagonal, roofed structure at one side of the nave. It was made of or covered with silver. The structure had doors and inside was a couch or bed. Unusually, it did not hold any physical relics of the saint. The ciborium seems to have been a symbolic tomb. It was rebuilt at least once.

The basilica is famous for six extant mosaic panels, dated to the period between the latest reconstruction and the inauguration of the Byzantine Iconoclasm in 730. These mosaics depict St. Demetrius with officials responsible for the restoration of the church (called the founders, ktetors) and with children. An inscription below one of the images glorifies heaven for saving the people of Thessalonica from a pagan Slavic raid in 615.

Thessaloniki became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1430. About 60 years later, during the reign of Bayezid II, the church was converted into a mosque, known as the Kasımiye Camii after the local Ottoman mayor, Cezeri Kasım Pasha. The symbolic tomb however was kept open for Christian veneration. Other magnificent mosaics, recorded as covering the church interior, were lost either during the four centuries when it functioned as a mosque (1493–1912) or in the Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917 that destroyed much of the city. It also destroyed the roof and upper walls of the church. Black-and-white photographs and good watercolour versions give an idea of the early Byzantine craftsmanship lost during the fire.

Following the Great Fire of 1917, it took decades to restore the church. Tombstones from the city"s Jewish cemetery - destroyed by the Greek and Nazi German authorities - were used as building materials in these restoration efforts in the 1940s. Archeological excavations conducted in the 1930s and 1940s revealed interesting artifacts that may be seen in a museum situated inside the church"s crypt. The excavations also uncovered the ruins of a Roman bath, where St. Demetrius was said to have been held prisoner and executed. A Roman well was also discovered. Scholars believe this is where soldiers dropped the body of St. Demetrius after his execution. After restoration, the church was reconsecrated in 1949.

Do you know an ancient castle or magnificent church near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory.com.

It's absolutely free, easy, and doesn't even need registration!

Upload data

Looks like you are a history fan!

Do you know an ancient castle or hidden ruins near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory. It's absolutely free, easy, and you can do it even without registration (of course you an also create an free account)!

Beurs van Berlage

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Most beautiful castles in Lithuania

Cultural Landscape of Sintra, Portugal

The Beauty of Cinque Terre

Historic Site of the week

Hagios Demetrios

Looks like you are a history fan!

Do you know an ancient castle or hidden ruins near you?