English


26-06-2008

The Museum


Museum Amsterdam-Noord is going to tell the story of this part of the capital of the Netherlands to its inhabitants and to its visitors. By way of neighbourhood directed exhibitions the museum will tell the stories that live and have been living here. Oral history will contribute importantly to the tales of the recent past. Every autumn there will be a prize question for ideas from the people living in the north of Amsterdam, including the professional workers in various fields, to suggest what they would like to see in exhibitions for the following year. An expert jury will choose four themes for the exhibitions during the next year.
Maps of walkways and cyclepaths that can be obtained in Museum Amsterdam Noord can - with or without a guide – direct the visitor in their exploration of the interesting and beautiful parts and monuments of Noord and the surrounding Waterland.

History



Although Amsterdam north of the river IJ, has been explored for more than a thousand years, a museum that contains the story of this northern part of the capital didn't yet exist.
Around the year 1200 the Seadike of Waterland was built by farmers to protect their lands against the overflowing waters from the southern sea, which is now called IJsselmeer.
Within Amsterdam-Noord there are seven villages that existed before the building of the dike which still keep parts of their original character. From west to east: Buiksloot, Nieuwendam, Schellingwoude and Durgerdam at the dike and Zunderdorp, Ransdorp and Holysloot in the rural part of Noord.
The original agriculture was replaced by cattle-breeding and in later centuries by fishing. Many inhabitants of the villages went out whaling in the Northern Ice Sea or became a sailor on the expeditions of the VOC (the Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie = Dutch East Indies Company).
The City of Amsterdam occupied part of the peninsula of the Volewijk, that penetrated into the river IJ. It was here that the violators of the law were hung to set an example for the inhabitants and visitors of Amsterdam. The famous painter Rembrandt, who found one of his loved ones in the village of Ransdorp, made an etch of the Danish girl, who had smashed the head of her landlady with an ax, hanging at the gallow at the Volewijk.
In the late 19th century the northern banks of the IJ were chosen as the place where big industries could be established. Shipbuilding and dockindustries like NDSM and ADM and aircraft industry (Fokker) originated in Noord. The world famous football club of "Ajax" had its first ground in the northern part of the city. The people who worked for the big industries were lodged in houses that were built by housing associations that used the ideas of Ebenezer Howard, published in "Garden Cities of to-morrow" (1902). The architecture of the garden cities is referred to as the rural Amsterdam School style, that corresponds with the famous style in the center of the town. These garden cities still exist in Noord and are - after renovation - inhabited nowadays with pleasure. The museum is situated in the former public baths of one of these garden cities, the Bird Village (Vogeldorp).

Exhibitions



Beside all this, an exhibition space will be available for use by local artists to exhibit their work in the museum. In Noord about 140 plastic artists are working in their studios, but space to exhibit their works is not readily available. Museum Amsterdam-Noord provides possibilities for artist exposure.

Café du Nord


In 'Cafe du Nord' visitors can consume a nice cup of coffee and a piece of apple pie or 'duvekater', a typical dainty that goes back to the old times when the original inhabitants offered sheep to the gods.
In the museum shop visitors can buy a souvenir or purchase literature in which Amsterdam-Noord and/or Waterland play an important role.