The Kloveniersdoelen ("musketeers' shooting range") was a complex of buildings in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

which served as headquarters and

shooting range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, venue, or field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice, or competitions. Some shooting ranges are operated by milita ...

for the local ''

schutterij Schutterij () refers to a voluntary city guard or citizen militia in the medieval and early modern Netherlands, intended to protect the town or city from attack and act in case of revolt or fire. Their training grounds were often on open spaces w ...

'' (civic guard). The companies of ''kloveniers'' were armed with an early type of

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...

known as an

arquebus An arquebus ( ) is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier. The term ''arquebus'' was applied to many different forms of firearms ...

, known in

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

as a ''bus'', ''haakbus'' or ''klover'' (from the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

''couleuvrine''), hence the name ''kloveniers''. The Kloveniersdoelen was located at the corner of Nieuwe Doelenstraat and

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. ...

canal, both named after the former shooting range. The 19th-century

Doelen Hotel Tivoli Doelen Amsterdam Hotel 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 is ...

now stands on the spot. Two ''kloveniers'' are depicted on the domed tower of the hotel, another reference to the history of this location.

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

's painting ''

The Night Watch ''Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq'', also known as ''The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch'', but commonly referred to as ''The Night Watch'' (), is a 1642 painting ...

'' was commissioned for the great hall of the Kloveniersdoelen.

History

The Kloveniersdoelen was one of three ''doelens'' (shooting ranges) for the Amsterdam ''schutterij'' (civic guard). The other two shooting ranges were the Handboogdoelen and Voetboogdoelen, both located along the

Singel The Singel () is one of the canals of Amsterdam. The Singel encircled Amsterdam in the Middle Ages, serving as a moat around the city until 1585, when Amsterdam expanded beyond the Singel. The canal runs from the IJ bay, near the Central St ...

. The Handboogdoelen civic guard was armed with

longbow A longbow is a type of tall bow that makes a fairly long draw possible. Longbows for hunting and warfare have been made from many different woods in many cultures; in Europe they date from the Paleolithic era and, since the Bronze Age, were mad ...

s, while the Voetboogdoelen civic guard wielded

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an Elasticity (physics), elastic launching device consisting of a Bow and arrow, bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar f ...

s and the Kloveniersdoelen civic guard used an early type of

, the

. The Kloveniersdoelen was the oldest of the three.H. de la Fontaine Verwey, "Herinneringen van een bibliothecaris'", ''De boekenwereld'', Jaargang 3. Uitgeverij Matrijs, Utrecht, 1986-1987
(Dutch, archived) Amsterdam's militia

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

s were formed in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

to defend the city against attack. Around 1580, at the behest of William of Orange, these Medieval guilds were incorporated into a new, much larger civic guard to defend the newly Protestant city against the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

during the

Dutch revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Reformation, centralisation, exc ...

which ultimately led to a full-blown war of independence, the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

. Officers of this new civic guard were recruited from the well-to-do of Amsterdam. The original building for the ''kloveniers'' guild was constructed in 1382 and stood along what is now Oude Doelenstraat, east of

Dam Square Dam Square or the Dam () is a town square in Amsterdam, the capital and most populated city of the Netherlands. Its notable buildings and frequent events make it one of the best-known and most important locations in the city and the country. ...

. In 1520 it was replaced with a new building on Nieuwe Doelenstraat, adjacent to a defensive tower in the city walls known as ''Swych Utrecht'' ("Be quiet, Utrecht"), as its primarily role had been to defend the city against attacks by the

Bishopric of Utrecht The archdiocese, archbishopric, diocese or Bishopric of Utrecht may refer to: * Diocese of Utrecht (695–1580) The historic Diocese of Utrecht was a diocese of the Latin Church (or Western) of the Catholic Church from 695 to 1580, and from 1559 ...

. In 1638 a lavish new addition to the Kloveniersdoelen was completed. The new building was very modern for its time — rectangularly shaped and in the

Classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

style that was very fashionable at that time. On the first floor of this new wing was a

banquet hall A banquet hall, function hall, or reception hall, is a special purpose room, or a building, used for hosting large social and business events. Typically a banquet hall is capable of serving dozens to hundreds of people a meal in a timely fashion. P ...

measuring 18 by 9 meters. The elegant hall so impressed visitors that some compared it to the

Banqueting House The Banqueting House, on Whitehall in the City of Westminster, central London, is the grandest and best-known survivor of the architectural genre of banqueting houses, constructed for elaborate entertaining. It is the only large surviving comp ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In the mid-17th century, the Eighty Years' War ended and the civic guard no longer served a military purpose. The civic guard continued to exist, but membership became an honorary position and the ''doelens'' assumed a primarily social function. The wealthiest and most powerful citizens of

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands which roughly lasted from 1588, when the Dutch Republic was established, to 1672, when the '' Rampjaar'' occurred. During this period, Dutch trade, scientific development ...

Amsterdam came together in the ''doelens'' to eat, drink and smoke. The elegant building was also used for official receptions and dinners, and to provide lodgings to prominent visitors to Amsterdam.

Marie de' Medici Marie de' Medici (; ; 26 April 1575 – 3 July 1642) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV. Marie served as regent of France between 1610 and 1617 during the minority of her son Louis XIII. Her mandate as rege ...

and Czar

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

viewed a fireworks display on the

Amstel The Amstel () is a river in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. It flows from the Aarkanaal and Drecht in Nieuwveen northwards, passing Uithoorn, Amstelveen, and Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, to the IJ in Amsterdam, to which the rive ...

river from a window of the Kloveniersdoelen.

From 9 August to 15 September 1748, the great hall hosted public gatherings of the ''

Doelisten The Doelisten were an orangist civic movement in Amsterdam, named after its primary meeting location the Kloveniersdoelen (or 'de Doelen' in short), which opposed the power of the Amsterdam mayors in the summer of 1748. The emergence of the m ...

'', a local protest group of mostly merchants opposing the perceived

nepotism Nepotism is the act of granting an In-group favoritism, advantage, privilege, or position to Kinship, relatives in an occupation or field. These fields can include business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, religion or health care. In ...

and corruption of the well-to-do who dominated Amsterdam's city government. The crowds that gathered in the hall were so large, some feared that the floor would collapse under the weight. In 1882/1883, the entire complex was demolished and replaced by the Doelen Hotel, which still stands on this location.

Painting

The walls of the Kloveniersdoelen were decorated with group portraits of the different companies of the civic guard. As early as 1529,

Dirck Jacobsz Dirck Jacobsz (1496–1567) was a Dutch people, Dutch Renaissance Painting, painter. His exact birthplace is unknown, but it was somewhere near Amsterdam. Career Born into a family of painters, he was first trained by his father, Jacob Cornel ...

painted a group portrait of a ''rot'' (company) of the ''kloveniers'' civic guard. It may have been the first group painting of the civic guard ever commissioned. The painting is now in the

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the S ...

. The best-known of these group portraits for the Kloveniersdoelen is

's ''

''. Completed in 1642, it was commissioned by the ''klovenier'' company under the command of

Frans Banning Cocq Frans Banninck Cocq (sometimes incorrectly spelled as Banning), ''free lord of Purmerland and Ilpendam'' (February 23, 1605 – January 1, 1655) was a knight, burgemeester (mayor) and military person of Amsterdam in the mid-17th century, the Dutc ...

. Other painters commissioned to do group portraits for the great hall of the Kloveniersdoelen were Nicolaes Eliaszoon Pickenoy,

Govert Flinck Govert (or Govaert) Teuniszoon Flinck (25 January 16152 February 1660) was a Dutch painter of the Dutch Golden Age. Life Born at Kleve, capital of the Duchy of Cleves, which was occupied at the time by the United Provinces, he was apprenticed by ...

Bartholomeus van der Helst Bartholomeus van der Helst (1613 – buried 16 December 1670) was a Dutch painter. Considered to be one of the leading portrait painters of the Dutch Golden Age, his elegant portraits gained him the patronage of Amsterdam's elite as well as th ...

, Jacob Adriaensz. Backer and

Joachim von Sandrart Joachim von Sandrart (12 May 1606 – 14 October 1688) was a German Baroque art-historian and painter, active in Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age. He is most significant for his collection of biographies of Dutch and German artists the '' ...

. From about 1683, the group portraits were removed from the ''doelens''. Most were hung in Amsterdam's city hall on

(now the

Royal Palace of Amsterdam The Royal Palace of Amsterdam in Amsterdam (Dutch: ''Koninklijk Paleis van Amsterdam'' or ) is one of three palaces in the Netherlands which are at the disposal of the monarch by Act of Parliament. It is situated on the west side of Dam Square ...

), others sold at auction. Many of the paintings were significantly trimmed to fit their new home. The full-size versions are known only through copies made of the original paintings, such as the watercolor copies contained in the Egerton Manuscript, which is now in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

.Maaike Dirkx, “In all their glory”: Amsterdam civic guards portraits – (2) Jan van Dyk and the paintings in the Town Hall", Rembrandt's Room, August 13, 2014
(archived) ''The Night Watch'' was trimmed on all four sides when it was moved to the town hall in 1715, presumably to fit the painting between two columns. This alteration resulted in the loss of two characters on the left side of the painting, as well as the top of the arch, the balustrade, and the edge of the step. This balustrade and step were key visual tools used by Rembrandt to give the painting a forward motion. A 17th-century copy of the painting by Gerrit Lundens at the

National Gallery, London The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current dire ...

shows the original composition. Dirck Jacobsz. A Group of Guardsmen 1529.jpg, Dirk Jacobsz (1529), ''A Group of Guardsmen'' Het korporaalschap van kapitein Pieter Dircksz Hasselaer en luitenant Jan Gerritsz Hooft, Amsterdam Rijksmuseum SK-C-404.jpeg, (Circle of)

Pieter Pietersz the Elder Pieter Pietersz the Elder, also Pieter Pietersz. (I), (1540–1603) was a Dutch Renaissance painter. Biography Pietersz was born in Antwerp. According to Karel van Mander, who mentioned him in his biography of his father Pieter Aertsen, he ...

(c. 1595–1605), ''The Company of Captain Pieter Dircksz Hasselaer and Lieutenant Jan Gerritsz Hooft'' SA 7338-Schutters van de compagnie van kapitein Jacob Gerritsz. Hoing en luitenant Wybrand Appelman.jpg,

Pieter Isaacsz Pieter Isaacsz (ca 1569, Helsingør – 14 September 1625) was a Danish court and portrait painter from Dutch origin who worked in a mannerist style on historical, biblical and mythological subjects. He was also a tapestry designer and art-dealer ...

(1596), ''Civic Guardsmen from the Company of Captain Jacob Gerritsz. Hoing and Lieutenant Wybrand Appelman'' Thomas de Keyser - De compagnie van kaptein Allaart Cloeck.jpg,

Thomas de Keyser Thomas de Keyser (c. 1596–1667) was a Dutch portrait painter and a dealer in Belgium bluestone and stone mason. He was the most in-demand portrait painter in the Netherlands until the 1630s, when Rembrandt eclipsed him in popularity. Rembra ...

(1632), ''The Company of Captain Allaert Cloeck and Lieutenant Lucas Jacobsz. Rotgans'' Nachtwacht-kopie-van-voor-1712.jpg,

(1642), ''The Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburgh'', better known as ''

'' Officieren en andere schutters van wijk IV in Amsterdam onder leiding van kapitein Jan Claesz van Vlooswijck en luitenant Gerrit Hudde Rijksmuseum SK-C-1177.jpeg, Nicolaes Eliasz. Pickenoy (1642), ''Officers and other Civic Guardsmen of the IV District of Amsterdam, under the Command of Captain Jan Claesz van Vlooswijck and Lieutenant Gerrit Hudde'' Officieren en andere schutters van wijk XVIII in Amsterdam onder leiding van kapitein Albert Bas en luitenant Lucas Conijn Rijksmuseum SK-C-371.jpeg,

(1645), ''The Company of Captain Albert Bas and Lieutenant Lucas Conyn''

Related buildings

The Kloveniersdoelen was one of three ''doelens'' (shooting ranges) for the Amsterdam civic guard, alongside the Handboogdoelen and Voetboogdoelen, both located along

canal. Of the three, only the Handboogdoelen survives. Doelen hotel tower

The location of the Kloveniersdoelen is now occupied by the 19th-century

. The

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ar ...

building contains some of the original walls and foundations of the Kloveniersdoelen. Two ''kloveniers'' are depicted on the domed tower of the hotel. They originally held muskets but these have gone missing. Other Dutch towns, including

Middelburg Middelburg may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Europe * Middelburg, Zeeland, the capital city of the province of Zeeland, southwestern Netherlands ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Middelburg, a former Catholic diocese with its see in the Zeeland ...

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

and

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Western Netherlands, lo ...

, also had a Kloveniersdoelen.

References

{{coord, 52, 22, 4, N, 4, 53, 44, E, type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Amsterdam Demolished buildings and structures in the Netherlands 16th century in Amsterdam 17th century in Amsterdam Shooting ranges in the Netherlands Militia group portraits Buildings and structures demolished in 1883