Construction work on the Amsterdam Museum renovation gets underway

AMSTERDAM, 3 September 2026 – With the installation of a protective plate around the centuries-old Jan van Speijk plaque in the historic boys’ courtyard, construction work on the renovation of the Amsterdam Museum began last Thursday, 3 September. The museum is set to undergo extensive renovation over the coming years, with the focus on preserving the building’s heritage features and rich history.

The protective barrier around the memorial stone was installed by Mayor Femke Halsema and the museum’s director, Judikje Kiers, whilst children looked on. ‘’After all, we’re building a museum for the next generation’’, Kiers explains the children’s role in this special moment. Councillor Elise Moeskops, architect Michiel Riedijk, Gerwin Port, director of Salverda Bouw, and a few other attendees also symbolically kicked off the long-awaited construction work by breaking through the protective barrier.

Councillor Elise Moeskops (municipal property): “The Amsterdam Museum is on the eve of a major refurbishment. The museum of and for Amsterdam is receiving the attention and care it deserves. The refurbishment will create more space both for the people of Amsterdam – making it much more accessible – and for the museum’s collection. I wish everyone every success with the building work.”

Refurbishment

The Amsterdam Museum, housed in a historic building that served as a civic orphanage for four centuries and, before that, as a convent, is to undergo extensive renovation in the coming years. The museum will be made more sustainable and prepared for the future.

The new Amsterdam Museum is set to open in 2030. It will be a visitor-friendly space where visitors and residents can get to know Amsterdam, housed in a museum building that is connected to the neighbourhood, the city and its residents. The museum will be more accessible, more open and more sustainable, with more space for the collection, education and the public.

Long-awaited launch

Discussions regarding the renovation of the Amsterdam Museum have been ongoing since 2016. Following a very meticulous process involving extensive consultation with various heritage and monument organisations, in 2021 the city council approved the design by the architectural firm Neutelings Riedijk Architecten, which was developed in collaboration with TPAHG Architecten as the restoration architect. In 2024, the planning permission was finalised. Following a tender process, the contract was awarded to Salverda Bouw, which is now commencing construction work and will carry out the renovation over the coming years.
Director Judikje Kiers; ‘We are delighted that the construction work is finally getting underway in earnest and that we have a goal in sight: we can’t wait to reopen the doors of this magnificent monument to visitors in 2030.’

Van Speijk commemorative plaque

A commemorative plaque to Jan van Speijk has been on display in the boys’ courtyard of the Amsterdam Museum since 20 October 1831. It is a plaque bearing the inscription: ‘To Jan Carel Josephus van Speyk, […] on the state gunboat No. 2 off Antwerp, having been attacked by the rebellious Belgians, he set fire to the gunpowder to save the honour of the Dutch flag and died a heroic death on 5 February 1831‘.

Jan van Speijk (1802–1831) grew up as an orphan in the Amsterdam Municipal Orphanage. He was a gunboat commander during the Belgian Revolt. On 5 February 1831, driven by strong winds and a faulty anchor, his ship drifted onto the quay at Antwerp, where it was stormed by Belgian soldiers and civilians. Van Speijk refused to surrender and blew up the ship by setting fire to a barrel of gunpowder. He himself, 28 of the 31 crew members and several Belgians were killed in the explosion. At a time when the Netherlands was in need of national heroes, this act was seen as an example of courage and patriotism. Van Speijk became a national hero and his story was immortalised in monuments, paintings, books and other commemorative objects.

The Van Speijk memorial stone is one of the many historical features in this centuries-old building. For instance, there are several historic façade stones in the building, ancient columns in the colonnade, centuries-old water pumps in the courtyards, the distinctive orphans’ lockers, the lime tree, planted to mark the coronation of Queen Wilhelmina in 1898, and several original seventeenth-century painted ceilings. During the renovation, all these heritage features of the building will be carefully preserved.