The Stadhuis or Town Hall of Amsterdam was originally a convent of St Cecilia. After the Reformation, the building was converted into the residence of the Stadholder; later it was occupied by the Admiralty. The Stadhuis became the Town Hall of Amsterdam when King Louis Napoleon took over the original Town Hall as his palace. The Stadhuis is now the Royal Palace in Amsterdam. The building is laid out around an inner courtyard and is built in the Renaissance style. The main feature surviving from the original complex is a pilastered facade of 1661.

The architect of this building was Jakob van Kampen (Jacob van Campen), who was born in Haarlem in 1595. After his education in painting and architecture, van Kampen established himself in Amsterdam where he built the Stadhuis at the Dam. The laying of the foundation for this building took place in 1648, the year of the Peace of Munster and Westphalen, marking the end of the eighty years war. The building was opened in 1655 but was not completed until 10 years later. The Stadhuis is considered to be van Kampen’s masterpiece. It was at that time the largest building of its kind and was regarded by many as one of the most important buildings in the world. It demonstrated the supremacy of Amsterdam in Holland, the most influential province of the Netherlands.

Besides being the architect of the Stadhuis, van Kampen built many private mansions. He also designed the monuments which were erected in honor of Admirals Tromp and van Galen. In addition to his architectural achievements, van Kampen is also regarded as a painter of some rank of the Dutch Baroque Era. Van Kampen died in Randenbroek in 1657.

This medal is considered to be more rare that those in Wiener’s cathedral series.

LINK to painting of The Stadhuis, Amsterdam by Isaak van Nickele (from artuk.org)

LINK to Royal Palace (Stadhuis) (from Wikipedia)

LINK to Biography of Jacob van Campen (from Web Gallery of Art)