★★★★★ 5.0
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H'ART Museum (Hermitage Amsterdam)
Right now, as you stand before this magnificent classical facade, three separate museums are quietly operating under one historic roof... but this building has been sheltering souls for over 340 years. The Amstelhof you're admiring was completed in 1682 as the "Diaconie Oude Vrouwen Huys" – a retirement home exclusively for elderly women. For three centuries, these walls witnessed thousands of life stories unfold, making it one of Amsterdam's longest-serving care facilities. When construction finished, this became one of the longest buildings in the entire city. But here's what most visitors miss – look closely at those classical proportions stretching along the Amstel River. Every single interior wall you'll see inside is new. The €40 million renovation gutted everything to create museum spaces, yet somehow preserved the building's soul. In 2009, Queen Beatrix and Russian President Medvedev opened this as Hermitage Amsterdam together... but when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, this institution severed those ties overnight, transforming into the H'ART Museum by 2023. From caring for Amsterdam's elderly to showcasing world treasures – this building refuses to stop evolving.
Did You Know?
- The H'ART Museum, originally known as Hermitage Amsterdam, is housed in the historic Amstelhof building, which served as a care home for the elderly for over 300 years before its transformation into a museum—making it a rare example of a 17th-century monumental building repurposed for contemporary cultural use while preserving its classical facade and original structure.
- Architecturally, the museum is a masterclass in adaptive reuse: the interior was designed to preserve the building’s historic 'skin,' with walls thickened up to 80 cm to invisibly house modern technical installations, while special autonomous design elements—called 'golden eggs'—were added to create unique, locally identified spaces without disrupting the building’s overall clarity and calmness.
- The museum features a dedicated 'Hermitage for Children' in the adjacent Hollandia Building, offering interactive ateliers, classrooms, a children’s café, and a store where young visitors can engage in hands-on art activities, attend classes, and even enjoy storytelling and movie sessions—making it one of the most family-friendly art destinations in Amsterdam.