PRESS FEATURE

France in Amsterdam

France and Amsterdam have age-old ties. As early as the 17th century, Amsterdam was a safe haven for French Huguenots and freethinkers such as René Descartes. Many of these ‘new’ residents settled in the Jordaan, a working-class neighbourhood built in 1613 when the city was expanded.

In the 17th century, Amsterdam developed into the main trade centre of Europe. This prosperity went hand in hand with a tolerance towards freethinkers that was unparalleled for that time. This also extended to freedom of the press. Various French newspapers were printed in Amsterdam, because it was not allowed to do so in France.

From 1795 until 1813, the Netherlands were part of the French empire and in 1808, Louis Bonaparte was declared king of the Netherlands by his brother Napoleon Bonaparte. He had the city hall in Amsterdam converted into the royal palace.

Favourite destination Since the 17th century, Amsterdam has been a favourite destination for French visitors, as becomes apparent in many travel journals. For instance by Marie des Jardins in 1688: ‘Amsterdam is the most pleasurable place in Europe; there is not a Persian or Armenian who would not feel at home there.’

Today, Amsterdam still attracts many French visitors. An import impetus was the arrival of the Thalys, allowing people to travel from Paris to the heart of Amsterdam in just over three hours.

Waalse Kerk or the Eglise Wallone The Waalse Kerk at Oudezijds Achterburgwal 159 was originally the chapel of the Sint Paulusklooster, dating back to 1409. When Amsterdam converted from Catholicism to Protestantism in 1586, the chapel was used by Walloon and French Huguenots. Ever since that time, church services have been conducted in French.

At the end of the 17th century the number of French Huguenots in Amsterdam had increased so much that no less than fifty ministers were connected to this church. Showpiece of the medieval church is the organ from 1680. Because of the amazing acoustics many concerts are

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organised there and on Sunday mornings church services are still conducted in French.

The Jordaan, a French ‘flower garden’ The Jordaan, built from the year 1610 onwards, is among the most famous neighbourhoods of Am¬sterdam. The name presumably originated from the French word ‘jardin’, or garden, because many French and Walloon refugees, the Huguenots, settled here. They were said to have named this neighbourhood 'le Jardin' because almost all streets here have been named after flowers, plants and trees, for instance Rozengracht, Bloemgracht, Leliegracht, Lindengracht, etc.

Family names of French origin can still be found here, for instance Perlé, Lancée and Baljé.

Residence of René Descartes From 1629 to 1635, René Descartes, the famous French philosopher, mainly lived in Amsterdam, where he had the peace and quiet to write his most famous works. He lived, among other things, in the house at Westermarkt 6, where a decorative stone tablet on the façade is a reminder of his stay. The tablet has a quote from one of Descartes’ letters: ‘Quel autre pays, ou l'on puisse jouir d'une liberté si entière?’, or: in what other country can one enjoy such utter freedom?

Institut Français The Institut Français des Pays-Bas is located at Vijzelgracht. This building from 1671, which used to be known as Maison Descartes, was designed by leading architect of that time, Adriaan Dortsman. For over three centuries French has been spoken in what was originally the Walenweeshuis or Hospice Wallon. French orphans were housed in this ‘maison des pauvres orphelins wallons d’Amsterdam’. The building has a symmetrical layout; boys and girls were strictly separated. Soon the building was extended with two additional wings that functioned as a home for needy elderly people in the Walloon community. Today, in the same premises – at Vijzelgracht 2 – houses the Consulat General of France. institutfrancais.nl

‘Marseille’ House ‘Marseille’ house is located at Keizersgracht 401, a canal-side house from 1665. The façade shows a sculptured stone with a bird’s-eye view of harbour town Marseille. The house was commissioned by French merchant Isaak Fouquier from Marseille. The original layout of the house

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has remained almost unchanged. That also applies to the 18th-century stucco in the hall and the 18th-century painted ceiling by Jacob de Wit in the garden room. Since 1999, the photography museum by the same name has been located here. www.huismarseille.nl

Parijs by the Wallen ‘Parijs’ house at Oudezijds Voorburgwal 232, built in 1626, was commissioned by Pieter Parys. The gable ornament shows the alliance weapon of the Mamuchet-Van Heusden family. Ma mouchet is French for my face. The weapon depicts a total of four ‘faces’ with unfortunately large noses.

More French stone tablets It was not until the beginning of the 18th century that the houses in Amsterdam were provided with numbers. Before that time, the addresses of the houses were marked by their names, depicted on decorative stone tablets on the façades. Of the thousands of stone tablets from the 17th and 18th century, over eight hundred have remained. Residents often chose a name that referred to their profession, or the city they were from.

At Keizersgracht 320 a lovely view of Bordeaux can be seen at first floor level: ‘In de Stat van Bordee’. In the front the Garonne River is depicted. At Geldersekade 97 we find ‘In Coignac’, a view of the city of Cognac on the Garonne River. This house was built shortly after 1600 for wine merchant Willem Hendrix.

French Empire furniture of Louis Bonaparte In 1806, Louis Bonaparte was declared king of the Netherlands by his brother Napoleon. He had the city hall on Dam Square decorated as the royal palace. He was, however, called back by Napoleon in 1810, because he thought he did not sufficiently tend to France’s interests. In 1811, Napoleon himself and his new wife Marie Louise stayed in Paleis op de Dam (Royal Palace) for two weeks.

It was the French Period in the Netherlands (1795-1813) that marked the lowest economic point for Amsterdam. The trade block of France against England made it nearly impossible for ships to enter Amsterdam’s harbour. Trade came to a near standstill and unemployment was at an unprecedented high. After the French period the beautiful collection of Empire furniture stayed behind in the Paleis op de Dam as a reminder of

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King Louis Bonaparte. This Empire collection is regarded to be the most important one outside of France. www.paleisamsterdam.nl

France in the Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum from 1885, the treasury of Dutch art, exhibits various paintings and artefacts relating to France. The museum has a life-size portrait of Louis Bonaparte, painted by Charles Howard Hodges in 1809. Very charming is the marble Amor statue, which was commissioned by Madame de Pompadour in 1757.

The Rijksmuseum reopened in 2013 after a spectacular renovation by Spanish architects Cruz en Ortiz. The generally praised layout of the museum rooms was designed by French designer Jean-Michel Wilmotte. www.rijksmuseum.nl

Napoleon at Herengracht 527 At Herengracht 527 a double premises with a façade in Louis XVI style is located. It was bought by Louis Bonaparte in 1808. Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte stayed there when he visited Amsterdam in 1811. Previous owners of the house included Dimitri Solovjov, the Moscow ambassador, with whom Tsar Peter the Great stayed in 1717.

The French Period in the Amsterdam Museum In the Amsterdam Museum many artefacts mark the French Period from 1795 to 1813, when the Netherlands officially was French territory. Tangible reminders are paintings from the time and the ‘keys to the city’ offered to Louis Bonaparte in 1808. The most spectacular one is De intocht van Napoleon (Napoleon’s Entry), a six-metre wide and four- metre high painting by painter Matthieu van Bree. It shows Napoleon on his white horse at the border marker of the city, surrounded by a number of Amsterdam dignitaries. It was unveiled in 1813 at Napoleon’s birthday in what was then the city hall. www.amsterdammuseum.nl

A miniature-size Loire castle At Roemer Visscherstraat 22, near the Vondelpark, a miniature-size Loire castle was built in 1894. It is part of a striking row of façades in the styles of seven European countries. This ‘United Europe’, was designed by architect Tjeerd Kuipers (1858-1942) and provides an overview of the history of European architecture.

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Coats of arms of Paris and Marseille on the façade of Central Station The façade of Amsterdam’s Central Station from 1889 is adorned with the coats of arms of fifteen European cities, each depicted on colourful enamelled tiles of about 1 x 1 metre wide. They represent the main foreign cities Amsterdam was connected to by railway, such as Paris and Marseille.

Amsterdam, January 2015

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