The NH Collection Amsterdam Doelen is a historic hotel in the Binnenstad (historic centre) of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, the oldest hotel in the city. It is located on the Binnen-Amstel (inner Amstel) at the southern end of the

Kloveniersburgwal Kloveniersburgwal is an Amsterdam canal flowing south from Nieuwmarkt to the Amstel River on the edge of the medieval city, lying east of the dam in the centre of Amsterdam. History The Kloveniersburgwal was dug at the end of the 15th century. ...

. The entrance is at Nieuwe Doelenstraat 24. The hotel completed in 1883, was designated in 2001 as a ''

rijksmonument A rijksmonument (, ) is a national heritage site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. At the end of February 2015, the Netherlands ...

'' (Dutch national heritage site). The best-preserved part of the interior is the central hall with marble stairs and balustrade and artwork by artist Gerrit Hendrik Heinen^nl.

History

The tower named Swych Utrecht^nl, part of the Amsterdam city walls and defence system. It was part of the Kloveniersdoelen, the gathering and shooting place for the city militia/guard known as "kloveniers". Doelen means "targets" in Dutch. The companies of kloveniers were armed with an early type of musket then sometimes called in Dutch "klover", from the French couleuvrine, hence the name "kloveniers". The Kloveniersdoelen was expanded in with a stylish new wing where the famous group portrait '' De Nachtwacht'' by

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

was hung. In 1815 this part of the Kloveniersdoelen became used as Brack's Doelen Hotel. In 1870 a new owner took over, J.F. Hahn. During the

International Colonial and Export Exhibition The International Colonial and Export Exhibition (Dutch: ''Internationale Koloniale en Uitvoerhandel Tentoonstelling''; French: ''Exposition Universelle Coloniale et d'Exportation Générale'') was a colonial exhibition (a type of World's Fair) ...

Hahn demolished the building in 1882-3 to make way for the current Doelen Hotel, a building of

Neo-Renaissance architecture Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

designed by architect J.F. van Hamersveld. Part of the walls and foundations were incorporated into the hotels. Some additional details of the hotel are reminders of the former Kloveniersdoelen. The gable-stone of the hotel, by J.H. Teixeira de Mattos, shows the former Swych Utrecht tower. The cupola on the Amstel side of the hotel is also a reference to the former tower. The "kloveniers" (city watchmen) is a reference to the former purpose of the site. In 1900 the hotel was renovated and modernized. The canal tour boats of Amsterdam have their origins at the Doelen Hotel. The city's first canal tour boat, named ''De Tourist'', departed from the hotel in 1909. On June 5 and 6, 1964,

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

stayed in the hotel on a stopover in Amsterdam during a European and Australian tour. The group occupied the whole first floor (US: second floor). On the second day of their visit The Beatles toured the Amsterdam canals on the boat named ''Jan van Galen.'' In 1997 Krasnapolsky bought the hotel. The Krasnapolsky Group was bought by the Spanish chain

NH Hotels NH Hotel Group is a Spanish multinational hotel company headquartered in Madrid, that operates over 350 hotels in 28 countries, currently under the Anantara, NH Collection, nhow Hotels, Tivoli, NH Hotels, Elewana Collection and Avani brands. The ...

in 2000 and the hotel's name was changed to the NH Doelen. In 2016, NH renovated the hotel and reopened it as the NH Collection Amsterdam Doelen.

External links

Official website

References

See the category ''

Doelen Hotel The NH Collection Amsterdam Doelen is a historic hotel in the Binnenstad (historic centre) of Amsterdam, the oldest hotel in the city. It is located on the Binnen-Amstel (inner Amstel) at the southern end of the Kloveniersburgwal. The entrance ...

'' on

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{{coord, 52.3682, 4.8958, type:landmark_region:NL, display=title Rijksmonuments in Amsterdam Hotels in Amsterdam