In the heart of Amsterdam you will find the Amsterdam Museum, a beautiful monumental building with stories of the past, present and future of Amsterdam.

This monumental building dates from the early Middle Ages. Originally, this was a women’s monastery with its own brewery and livestock, called the Sint-Luciën monastery. Around 1578, the city of Amsterdam needed an orphanage for the children of the ‘poorters’. A ‘poorter’ was the historical name for a citizen who had bought the rights to live within the gates (‘poort’) of the city. When the women of the monastery moved to a new place, the building became the new orphanage. For four centuries, the orphanage expanded and accommodated tens of thousands of orphans.

In 1970, it became the Amsterdam Historical Museum, now known as the Amsterdam Museum. It has a compelling interactive tour and ever changing exhibitions about Amsterdam!

The Amsterdam DNA presentation offers a captivating, one-hour overview of the history of Amsterdam on the basis of interactive images, sounds, movement and specially selected objects.

Extra information

Accessibility

The museum is accessible for wheelchairs and gives access to most of the exhibition halls. It is not possible to visit the museum with a mobility scooter or an electric wheelchair.