The Stadsschouwburg (; Dutch: ''Municipal Theatre'') of Amsterdam is the name of a theatre building at the

Leidseplein Leidseplein (English: Leiden Square) is a square in central Amsterdam, Netherlands. It lies in the Weteringschans neighborhood ( Centrum borough), immediately northeast of the Singelgracht. It is located on the crossroads of the Weteringschans, Ma ...

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 ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The building is in the

neo-Renaissance 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 ...

style dating back to 1894, and is the former home of the National Ballet and Opera.

History

Rederijkerskamers

The first 'rederijkers' (Dutch orators) appeared at the end of the 15th century in Amsterdam. In the 16th century, these so-called precursors of modern theatre organized themselves into 'rederijkerskamers', which can be compared to theater companies. At that time, there were no permanent theater buildings in Amsterdam, and the shipping company cherries performed on temporary stages, from carts (during processions) or in public spaces. Rederijkerskamers that performed in Amsterdam were: "In Liefde Bloeyende" and "'t Wit Lavendel". The latter was also known as the "Brabantsche Kamer", since its members mainly hailed from Brabant and the Flemish areas.

Duytsche Academie

In 1617, the dramatists Samuel Coster and Gerbrand Adriaenszoon Bredero - along with their Rederijkerskamer "In Liefde Bloeyende" - founded the Duytsche Academy. This institution was formed after the example of Italian academies, to popularize science through lectures in the national language. The Academy was established in a wooden building at

Keizersgracht The Keizersgracht (; "Emperor's canal") is a canal in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It is the second of the three main Amsterdam canals that together form the Grachtengordel, or canal belt, and lies between the inner Herengracht and outer Prinsengr ...

in Amsterdam, on the site of the modern hotel Blakes.

First Schouwburg of Van Campen

The Schouwburg of Van Campen was a theatre located at

384 in Amsterdam, Amsterdam's first city theatre. The site is now occupied by a hotel.

New Theater

In 1664 it was decided that the small theater of Van Campen had to be replaced by a larger theater building more in tune with the customs and

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means t ...

of the time. This new theater was twice as large as the old, and opened on 26 May 1665. Its first stone had been laid by the youngest daughter of the playwright

Jan Vos Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numbe ...

. The Amsterdam story writer

Jan Wagenaar Jan Wagenaar (25 October 1709 – 1 March 1773) was a Dutch historian, best known for his contributions to ''Tegenwoordige staat van nederland'' and ''Vaderlandsche Historie''. Biography Wagenaar was born in Amsterdam to a Mennonite master ...

gives an ample description of this building, mentioning in particular the theatre machinery, through which men could fall through the air or disappear below the stage.

Gerard de Lairesse Gerard or Gérard (de) Lairesse (11 September 1641 – June 1711) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and art theorist. His broad range of skills included music, poetry, and theatre. De Lairesse was influenced by the Perugian Cesare Ripa and Fr ...

helped decorate the interior. This building was regularly extended and adapted but on 7 May 1772, the building caught fire during a performance, after a theatre servant gone had carelessly gone round the building with a naked candle from the stage lighting. The fire quickly burnt itself out, yet killed 18 people, destroyed 22 houses in the surroundings, and was so large that he it could be seen all the way from

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

and on the island of

Texel Texel (; Texels dialect: ) is a municipality and an island with a population of 13,643 in North Holland, Netherlands. It is the largest and most populated island of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. The island is situated north of De ...

. The rubble became valuable due to the gold and the jewels in it, and the site was sold by its owners after the fire.

Leidseplein

The city theatre moved to the Leidseplein and opened on 13 September 1789 with the première of

Lucretia Wilhelmina van Merken Lucretia Wilhelmina van Merken (21 August 1721 – 19 October 1789) was a Dutch poet and playwright. Born in Amsterdam, she began writing occasional poetry and in her early twenties had published her first tragedy. Influenced by the Enlightenment ...

's tragedy ''Jacob Simonszoon de Ryk''. The building had a wooden structure behind a stone facade. It burnt down in 1890. The present theatre replaced its burned-down predecessor. It was built between 1892 and 1894 to a design of Jan L. Springer (1850–1915), with the cooperation of his father J. B. Springer and

Adolf Leonard van Gendt Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name used in German-speaking countries, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Flanders, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and to a lesser extent in vari ...

. The rebuilding was supported closely by prominent banker, philanthropist and

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

A.C. Wertheim. In 1982 it became 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 ...

. From the end

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, until the opening of the

Stopera The Stopera is a building complex in Amsterdam, Netherlands, housing both the city hall of Amsterdam and the Dutch National Opera and Ballet, the principal opera house in Amsterdam that is home of Dutch National Opera, Dutch National Ballet and ...

in 1986, the

Dutch National Opera The Dutch National Opera (DNO; formerly De Nederlandse Opera, now De Nationale Opera in Dutch) is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Dutch National Opera & Ballet housed in the Stopera building, a m ...

was based in the Stadsschouwburg.

Culture and theatre

Whenever

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the l ...

has a major win, they often go to the steps of the cities theater to be publicly applauded. The normal programme of events encompasses all sorts of theatrical forms, mostly by Dutch writers. The ''Boekenbal'' (''book ball'') is traditionally held in the Stadsschouwburg and it marks the beginning of the annual

Boekenweek In the Netherlands, the Boekenweek (; English: Book Week) is an annual "week" of ten days dedicated to Dutch literature. It has been held in March annually since 1932. Each Boekenweek has a theme. The beginning of the Boekenweek is marked by the ' ...

(''book week'').

Notes

Bibliography

*Worp, J.A.: Geschiedenis van den Amsterdamschen Schouwburg 1496-1772. Amsterdam: S.L. van Looy, 1920.

External links

Official website (Internationaal Theater Amsterdam)

Monument report
{{Authority control Stadsschouwburg Theatres in the Netherlands Rijksmonuments in Amsterdam