Vondelpark
Encyclopedia
The Vondelpark is a public urban park
of 47 hectares (120 acres) in Amsterdam
, Netherlands
. It is located in the stadsdeel
Amsterdam Oud-Zuid
, west from the Leidseplein
and the Museumplein
. The park was opened in 1865 and originally named the "Nieuwe Park", but later renamed to "Vondelpark", after the 17th century author Joost van den Vondel
. Yearly, the park has around 10 million visitors. In the park is a film
museum
, an open air theatre
, a playground
, and several horeca
facilities.
In 1864 a group of citizens led by Christiaan Pieter van Eeghen established the Vereeniging tot Aanleg van een Rij- en Wandelpark (Association for the Construction of a Park for Riding and Strolling). They bought several hectares of grass-land and marshes at the rim of the city of Amsterdam, in order to create the new park. They assigned the architect Jan David Zocher to design it, and in 1865 "Het Nieuwe Park" (English: "The New Park") was opened for members of the association and in exchange for a fee also for other citizens.
Two years after the park opened, in 1867, a statue
of writer and playwright Joost van den Vondel
was placed in the park. Sculptor Louis Royer
created the sculpture and the architect Pierre Cuypers
designed the stand. As a result people started to call the park "Vondelspark" (English: "Vondel's Park").
In 1873 a bandstand
was built. In the same year, brewer Gerard Adriaan Heineken
was denied to open a bar in the park, so he built the Bierhuis Vondel (English: "Beer House Vondel") in the street next to the park, what is now Vondelstraat 41.
The last part of the park was designed by Louis Paul Zocher, Jan David Zocher's son, and was realized from 1875 to 1877. The park now became its current size of 47 hectare
s. Also the English garden
style design of the Zochers has been roughly maintained up to now, although in the late 19th century the elongated park had a stream of water from the beginning to the end and contained many small paths and small bushes.
In 1878 the Pavillon (English: "Pavilion") was built as a replacement of a wooden chalet built by Louis Paul Zocher. The Pavillon is currently known as the Vondelparkpaviljoen (English: "Vondelpark Pavilion"). The park's name was officially changed into "Vondelpark" (English: "Vondel Park") in 1880.
Already in the 1880s and 1890s the cycling
in the park caused hindrance. First the park management tried to resolve this with restrictive measurements against cyclists, such as special bike paths, limited opening hours, and fines for cyclists that were going faster than a horse's trot
. It was only after mediation of the Algemene Nederlandsche Wielrijders-Bond (English: "General Dutch Cyclists Union"), that helped fund the park, that a park guard was installed and cyclists were again permitted to cycle normally.
was created in the center of the park.
One year later in 1937, the Blauwe Theehuis
(English: "Blue Tearoom") was opened. This tearoom is a round modernist building
, designed by the architectural office Baanders.
In the following years the overall maintenance of the park became too expensive for the Vereniging tot aanleg van een rij- en wandelpark (English: "Association for the creation of a park for riding and strolling"), due to an intensified use, and in 1953 the association donated the park to the city of Amsterdam. The landscape architect Egbert Mos renovated the Vondelpark for the city in the 1950s. The purpose was improve the park for both usage and maintenance. Small bushes were grouped into larger bushes, superfluous paths were removed, and the rose garden was renovated. Also the stream of water in the "trunk" near the northern entrance of the park was removed.
In the 1960s children's playground
s were created. During the flower power
era in the 1960s/1970s the Vondelpark became a symbol of a place where "everything is possible and (almost) everything is allowed". In the 1980s an open air theatre
was built.
The Vondelpark received the status of rijksmonument
(English: "state monument") in 1996.
In the 1990s the number of visitors grew to approximately 10 million visitors annually. The grass is used as sports field and the paths as bike paths. This caused the city to start a new renovation that takes place from 1999 to 2010. The purpose is to intensify the monumental value of the park and furthermore to improve the park's durability. The renovation takes more than ten years in order to decrease the hindrance for visitors and for brooding animals.
Starting in September 2008, adults were planned to be legally allowed to have sex in the park, as long as they "take their garbage with them afterwards and never have intercourse near the playground. The sex must be limited to the evening hours and night.", in the words of current Amsterdam Alderman
Paul Van Grieken However, Amsterdam Police announced that they would not in fact tolerate this as the law required them to prevent it.
The movie theater
of the Netherlands Filmmuseum
, the national film museum
, is located in the Vondelparkpaviljoen, a 19th century pavilion. The films that are screened here range from 19th century silent film
s to contemporary digital productions
. The museum also organizes exhibitions, lectures, debates, and in the summer there are open air films on the terrace. Every two years newly restored films from the collection are screened during the Filmmuseum Biennial.
The Vondelpark Openluchttheater is an open air theatre with shows from June until August. There are performances of classical music
, pop music
, world music
, dance
, musical theatre
, and cabaret
. The theatre receives a subsidy from the city government. And although all performances have free entrance, visitors are asked for a donation of one euro
.
facilities (listed in alphabetical order):
There are some statue
s in the park:
Every Friday there is the Fridaynightskate that starts in front of the Filmmuseum.
Yearly events include the golf tournament Vondelpark Open and the running contest Vondelparkloop.
The Queen's Day
celebrations on 30 April in the Vondelpark focus specifically on children. There is a "freemarket" and there are games and other activities for children.
From June until August there are music and dance performances in the open air theatre
.
's song "Vondelpark vannacht" from the album Acda en De Munnik (1997) and in Omar Rodríguez-López
's song "Vondelpark bij nacht" from the album Omar Rodriguez
(2005).
1990s
' 2009 album 'Kicks' opens with a track entitled "Vondelpark", which is a tour diary from one of the band's trips to the Netherlands.
Urban park
An urban park, is also known as a municipal park or a public park, public open space or municipal gardens , is a park in cities and other incorporated places to offer recreation and green space to residents of, and visitors to, the municipality...
of 47 hectares (120 acres) in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. It is located in the stadsdeel
Stadsdeel
A stadsdeel is the name used for city districts in some of the larger municipalities of the Netherlands.Amsterdam calls 7 of its 8 deelgemeenten stadsdeel...
Amsterdam Oud-Zuid
Amsterdam Oud-Zuid
Oud-Zuid is a neighborhood and a former borough of Amsterdam. It was formed in 1998 by merging the former boroughs of Zuid and De Pijp. In 2010 the borough was merged with Zuideramstel to form the borough Amsterdam-Zuid. On January 1st 2005 the borough had a population of 83,696...
, west from the Leidseplein
Leidseplein
The Leidseplein is a square in central Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Lying in the southwest of the Grachtengordel district of Amsterdam, the Leidseplein is immediately northeast of the Singelgracht canal. It is situated on the crossroads of the Weteringschans, the Marnixstraat, and the Leidsestraat...
and the Museumplein
Museumplein
The Museumplein is a square in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The square is called "Museum Square" because four museums are located around the square: the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum, and the Diamond Museum...
. The park was opened in 1865 and originally named the "Nieuwe Park", but later renamed to "Vondelpark", after the 17th century author Joost van den Vondel
Joost van den Vondel
Joost van den Vondel was a Dutch writer and playwright. He is considered the most prominent Dutch poet and playwright of the 17th century. His plays are the ones from that period that are still most frequently performed, and his epic Joannes de Boetgezant , on the life of John the Baptist, has...
. Yearly, the park has around 10 million visitors. In the park is a film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
, an open air theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, a playground
Playground
A playground or play area is a place with a specific design for children be able to play there. It may be indoors but is typically outdoors...
, and several horeca
Horeca
Horeca is a business term which refers to a sector of the food service industry, to establishments which prepare and serve food and beverages. The term is a syllabic abbreviation of the words Hotel/Restaurant/Café....
facilities.
19th century
Two years after the park opened, in 1867, a statue
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
of writer and playwright Joost van den Vondel
Joost van den Vondel
Joost van den Vondel was a Dutch writer and playwright. He is considered the most prominent Dutch poet and playwright of the 17th century. His plays are the ones from that period that are still most frequently performed, and his epic Joannes de Boetgezant , on the life of John the Baptist, has...
was placed in the park. Sculptor Louis Royer
Louis Royer
Louis Royer was a sculptor from the Austrian Netherlands. He lived in Mechelen, Paris, Rome, The Hague, and Amsterdam. In the Netherlands he made sculptures of famous people from Dutch history, such as the statue of Rembrandt at the Rembrandtplein and of Joost van den Vondel in the Vondelpark,...
created the sculpture and the architect Pierre Cuypers
Pierre Cuypers
Petrus Josephus Hubertus Cuypers was a Dutch architect. His name is most frequently associated with the Amsterdam Central Station and the Rijksmuseum , both in Amsterdam. More representative for his oeuvre, however, are numerous churches, of which he designed more than 100...
designed the stand. As a result people started to call the park "Vondelspark" (English: "Vondel's Park").
In 1873 a bandstand
Bandstand
A bandstand is a circular or semicircular structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts...
was built. In the same year, brewer Gerard Adriaan Heineken
Gerard Adriaan Heineken
Gerard Adriaan Heineken was the founder of Heineken. In 1864 he decided to purchase the brewery 'Den Hoyberg.' Here he started to brew a new beer....
was denied to open a bar in the park, so he built the Bierhuis Vondel (English: "Beer House Vondel") in the street next to the park, what is now Vondelstraat 41.
The last part of the park was designed by Louis Paul Zocher, Jan David Zocher's son, and was realized from 1875 to 1877. The park now became its current size of 47 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s. Also the English garden
English garden
The English garden, also called English landscape park , is a style of Landscape garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal, symmetrical Garden à la française of the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe. The...
style design of the Zochers has been roughly maintained up to now, although in the late 19th century the elongated park had a stream of water from the beginning to the end and contained many small paths and small bushes.
In 1878 the Pavillon (English: "Pavilion") was built as a replacement of a wooden chalet built by Louis Paul Zocher. The Pavillon is currently known as the Vondelparkpaviljoen (English: "Vondelpark Pavilion"). The park's name was officially changed into "Vondelpark" (English: "Vondel Park") in 1880.
Already in the 1880s and 1890s the cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
in the park caused hindrance. First the park management tried to resolve this with restrictive measurements against cyclists, such as special bike paths, limited opening hours, and fines for cyclists that were going faster than a horse's trot
Trot (horse gait)
The trot is a two-beat diagonal gait of the horse, where the diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time. There is a moment of suspension between each beat....
. It was only after mediation of the Algemene Nederlandsche Wielrijders-Bond (English: "General Dutch Cyclists Union"), that helped fund the park, that a park guard was installed and cyclists were again permitted to cycle normally.
20th century
In 1936, a rose gardenRose garden
A Rose garden or Rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses. Designs vary tremendously and roses may be displayed alongside other plants or grouped by individual variety, colour or class in rose beds.-Origins of the rose...
was created in the center of the park.
One year later in 1937, the Blauwe Theehuis
Blauwe Theehuis
The Blauwe Theehuis is a 1930s Modernist pavilion in the Vondelpark in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. It is a ring-shaped building, somewhat reminiscent of a flying saucer. Originally a tea house, it is now in use as a café and restaurant, surrounded by outside seating...
(English: "Blue Tearoom") was opened. This tearoom is a round modernist building
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
, designed by the architectural office Baanders.
In the following years the overall maintenance of the park became too expensive for the Vereniging tot aanleg van een rij- en wandelpark (English: "Association for the creation of a park for riding and strolling"), due to an intensified use, and in 1953 the association donated the park to the city of Amsterdam. The landscape architect Egbert Mos renovated the Vondelpark for the city in the 1950s. The purpose was improve the park for both usage and maintenance. Small bushes were grouped into larger bushes, superfluous paths were removed, and the rose garden was renovated. Also the stream of water in the "trunk" near the northern entrance of the park was removed.
In the 1960s children's playground
Playground
A playground or play area is a place with a specific design for children be able to play there. It may be indoors but is typically outdoors...
s were created. During the flower power
Flower power
Flower power is a slogan used by the American counterculture movement during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of passive resistance and non-violence ideology. It is rooted in the opposition movement to the Vietnam War. The expression was coined by the American Beat poet Allen Ginsberg in...
era in the 1960s/1970s the Vondelpark became a symbol of a place where "everything is possible and (almost) everything is allowed". In the 1980s an open air theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
was built.
The Vondelpark received the status of rijksmonument
Rijksmonument
A rijksmonument is a National Heritage Site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.-History and criteria:...
(English: "state monument") in 1996.
21st century
Starting in September 2008, adults were planned to be legally allowed to have sex in the park, as long as they "take their garbage with them afterwards and never have intercourse near the playground. The sex must be limited to the evening hours and night.", in the words of current Amsterdam Alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
Paul Van Grieken However, Amsterdam Police announced that they would not in fact tolerate this as the law required them to prevent it.
Film museum
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
of the Netherlands Filmmuseum
Netherlands Filmmuseum
EYE Film Institute Netherlands is located in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. It includes a cinematography museum formerly called Filmmuseum, founded in 1952. Its predecessor was the Dutch Historic Film Archive, founded in 1946...
, the national film museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
, is located in the Vondelparkpaviljoen, a 19th century pavilion. The films that are screened here range from 19th century silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
s to contemporary digital productions
Digital cinematography
Digital cinematography is the process of capturing motion pictures as digital images, rather than on film. Digital capture may occur on video tape, hard disks, flash memory, or other media which can record digital data. As digital technology has improved, this practice has become increasingly common...
. The museum also organizes exhibitions, lectures, debates, and in the summer there are open air films on the terrace. Every two years newly restored films from the collection are screened during the Filmmuseum Biennial.
Open air theatre
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
, dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
, musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
, and cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
. The theatre receives a subsidy from the city government. And although all performances have free entrance, visitors are asked for a donation of one euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
.
Horeca
And in the park are several horecaHoreca
Horeca is a business term which refers to a sector of the food service industry, to establishments which prepare and serve food and beverages. The term is a syllabic abbreviation of the words Hotel/Restaurant/Café....
facilities (listed in alphabetical order):
- 't Blauwe TheehuisBlauwe TheehuisThe Blauwe Theehuis is a 1930s Modernist pavilion in the Vondelpark in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. It is a ring-shaped building, somewhat reminiscent of a flying saucer. Originally a tea house, it is now in use as a café and restaurant, surrounded by outside seating...
, a bar/restaurant - Groot Melkhuis, a bar/restaurant
- Vertigo, the bar/restaurant of the film museum
- Vondeling, the bar/restaurant of the open air theatre
- Vondeltuin, a bar/restaurant
Statues
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
s in the park:
- Joost van den Vondel (1867) by Louis RoyerLouis RoyerLouis Royer was a sculptor from the Austrian Netherlands. He lived in Mechelen, Paris, Rome, The Hague, and Amsterdam. In the Netherlands he made sculptures of famous people from Dutch history, such as the statue of Rembrandt at the Rembrandtplein and of Joost van den Vondel in the Vondelpark,...
- The Fish (1965) by Pablo PicassoPablo PicassoPablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
- Mama Baranka (1985) by Nelson Carrilho
Events
Yearly events include the golf tournament Vondelpark Open and the running contest Vondelparkloop.
The Queen's Day
Koninginnedag
Koninginnedag or Queen's Day is a national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Celebrated on 30 April , Koninginnedag is Queen Beatrix's official birthday. Though Queen Beatrix was born on 31 January, the holiday is observed on 30 April as it was the birthday of her mother and...
celebrations on 30 April in the Vondelpark focus specifically on children. There is a "freemarket" and there are games and other activities for children.
From June until August there are music and dance performances in the open air theatre
Outdoor cinema
An outdoor cinema consists of a digital or analog movie projector, scaffolded construction or inflatable projection screen, and sound system....
.
Popular culture
The park is referenced in Acda en De MunnikAcda en De Munnik
Acda en De Munnik is a Dutch cabaret and music duo, Thomas Acda and Paul de Munnik . Their songs are generally seen as simply and expertly arranged, so that the attention of the listener automatically is drawn to the lyrics. The lyrics are mostly about love, youth and life. Acda en de Munnik’s...
's song "Vondelpark vannacht" from the album Acda en De Munnik (1997) and in Omar Rodríguez-López
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
Omar Alfredo Rodríguez-López is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, writer, actor and film director who was born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico...
's song "Vondelpark bij nacht" from the album Omar Rodriguez
Omar Rodriguez (album)
Omar Rodriguez is the self titled second solo album by The Mars Volta guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and the first in the "Amsterdam series" . Most of the overdubs and mixing were done on the road in September 2005...
(2005).
1990s
1990s (band)
-History:They were signed to Rough Trade Record Company when they were spotted at only their sixth gig, and have released two albums so far, Cookies and Kicks....
' 2009 album 'Kicks' opens with a track entitled "Vondelpark", which is a tour diary from one of the band's trips to the Netherlands.
External links
Vondelpark- Satellite View from Google Maps
- Vondelpark Article
- Historical photographs of the Vondelpark
- Archive of the Vondelpark society at the Amsterdam City Archives