★★★★★ 5.0
Discover
Vondelpark
The year is 1873, and Amsterdam's famous beer maker Gerard Heineken just got REJECTED when he asked to open a bar right here in Vondelpark! So he built his beer house across the street instead! This massive 47-hectare wonderland started as a fancy private park where only rich people could afford to enter - everyone else had to pay! It's named after a Dutch poet, but here's the cool part: it was built on swampy marshland, and today over 12 MILLION people visit every year! Can you spot the cast iron bandstand from 1873? It's like a treasure hunt for Victorian secrets!
Did You Know?
- The Vondelpark was originally a private green oasis for Amsterdam's elite, designed in the English landscape style by Jan David Zocher and opened in 1865 as 'Nieuwe Park'—it only became fully public and free for everyone after the City Council purchased it in 1953.
- The park is named after the famous Dutch poet and playwright Joost van den Vondel, whose bronze statue by sculptor Louis Royer was placed in the park in 1867, leading to its current name.
- During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Vondelpark became a temporary open-air dormitory for hippies visiting Amsterdam, and remnants of this era can still be seen in the now-legalized alternative cultural centers like OT301 and OCCII that fringe the park.