The Stadsschouwburg (; Dutch: ''Municipal Theatre'') of Amsterdam is a theatre building on the Leidseplein 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 ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. The building was built in 1894 in 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 ...

style, and was the 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 Prinseng ...

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 late 16th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to ...

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. 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 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 ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

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 Den ...

. 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's tragedy ''Jacob Simonszoon de Ryk''. The building had a wooden structure behind a stone facade. It burned down in 1890. The present theatre 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. The rebuilding was supported by the prominent banker, philanthropist and

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

A.C. Wertheim. In 1982 it became a Rijksmonument. From the end

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 (formerly Het Muziektheater), the principal opera house in Amsterdam that is home of Dutch National Ope ...

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 commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. ...

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 Renaissance Revival architecture in the Netherlands