Maritime - Het Scheepvaart Museum, Amsterdam

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I didn't go in here as I am not a huge fan of old ships and boats... but I was on one of the tour boats when I took the photo :)... anyway.. I guess it would be interesting if you are into all things nautical.

The "Scheepvaartmuseum" houses a large exhibition about the importance of ships and sea trade for Amsterdam and the Netherlands. A psecial part of the exhibition is the "Amsterdam" a replica of an East Indiaman, the type of ship used by the V.O.C. You can explore the structure and chambers of the ship and sometimes you can even meet some actors dressed like original crew members.

Rooms and rooms full of model boats, ships, canoe's, what-have-you. It's interesting for the first hour, but I wish we had left after that. I suppose if you were really fascinated by maritime history, you might find all those little models engrossing.

In short, it's a nice museum, but failed to hold me interest for too long.

The imposing building of this museum houses the national museum of maritime history. It tells the story of sea travel from ancient history to more recent times.
Moored along side the museum building, is a full scale model of the "Amsterdam". It was one of the largest ships in the fleet of the United East India Company.

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This is a replica of the Dutch East Indiaman which sunk off of the English south coast in 1748 with 336 people on board on its maiden voyage.

I found this a particularly interesting *must see* while visiting Amsterdam because I have seen parts of the wreck of this ship at low tide on several occasions, not far from my home on the coast.

The museum is open daily during
June-August 10am-5pm
Sept-May 10am-5pm Tues-Sun

The Maritime Museum is an incredible facility to visit, both for the structure itself and the contents within. Housed in the National Naval Depot, the former arsenal of the Dutch Navy and over 300 years old, it's a fine collection of ship models and artifacts attesting to the might and history of the Dutch during their height of world power. Housed within is the actual Royal Barge once used by Dutch royalty, and outside on the water is a full-scale replica of the Dutch East Indiaman Amsterdam ship that you can tour. The actual one sank off the coast of England on its maiden voyage.

If you are even remotely interested in the history of Holland,Global Trade and the world as we now know it, this museum showcases a wonderful collection in a building that is monument itself,on the very harbour where the VOC (Dutch East India Company) would set off for their world changing pioneering and "business" ventures.
The Dutch explored like no other nation,and were welcomed on shores where other westerners at first were'nt ..and maybe would still not be welcome if it was'nt for the Dutch and their patience and wit..... they did their share of pillaging and colonizing by force,but if anyone did (or could do) it a / the right way,it was them.If you're interested enough to still be reading the end of this caption,this place is a MUST SEE. It is honestly one of the most rewarding historical experiences I have had and I am so glad to have been able to stand on that pier in my lifetime and look west as the (European/"modern") founders of my home did before they set sail....(even though chances are many of them left from Zeeland and other coastal provinces).

Even if you just pass by and see the building and the many ships outside,including the Amsterdam replica ship which just on first sight is a reality blast of the historical significance of the place you stand.

Don't confuse this place with the Scheepvaartmuseum, which is a maritime museum. This isn't! The Scheepvaarthuis ('shipping house') is considered to be the first example of one of the most important Dutch architectural styles of the 20th century; the Amsterdam School. I'm a big fan of this style that created "total works of art", combining architecture with sculpture, stained glass etc..This building, which contained the offices of a number of shipping companies, was designed by the three 'inventors' of the style, J. van der Mey, M. de Klerk and P.L. Kramer. Besides being a monumental office-building, it also commemorates the history of The Netherlands as a sea-going nation; many details refer to this part of our history. The location of the building is well chosen too; from this very spot the first journey to the current Indonesia by a Dutch ship started.

I've always love boats and boats history... we also have a marine museam in Lisbon and it was a complement to that.
Netherlands Maritime museam is amazing we get back on time in a second.
They have a superb maritime collection on a very beautiful building.
And AMSTERDAM ship...no words.
Amsterdam is a replica of an East Indiaman that was proprety of the Dutch East India Company, was used for voyages to Asia.
Between 1600 and 1800 the East Indiamen made 4800 voyages.

This former National Naval Depot is built in 1656 by Daniel Stalpaert and is built on 18.000 piles and from 1973 is it rebuilt to a museum. It has one of the largest maritime collections of the world.
There are special events scheduled regularly. One of the fantastic spectacles is the mustering of the crew of Dutch East Indiaman on the replica Amsterdam. However during the whole year the ship is manned. The stalwart sea dogs unload the cargo, scrub the deck and sing old shanties.
In general: open daily except on Monday.