From the water
The Hermitage Amsterdam is an art museum located on the banks of the Amstel river. From its opening in 2009 until 2022, it was the largest satellite of the Hermitage Museum of Saint Petersburg. The museum cut ties with Saint Petersburg after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The structure opened in 1682 as a retirement home for elderly women, under the name Diaconie Oude Vrouwen Huys, on the east bank of the river Amstel. Beginning in 1817 the facility housed both elderly men and women, and was renamed the Diaconie Oude Vrouwen en Mannenhuis.
The story behind it
The building on the Amstel known as H’ART Museum was originally the Amstelhof, a care home for elderly women built in 1682. For more than three centuries it housed elderly residents.
Between 2009 and 2022 it was the Dutch branch of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. Today it hosts major international exhibitions in partnership with museums from around the world.
On your cruise
This is stop 21 of 23 on the Friendship route. Before this you passed The Skinny Bridge, and the boat continues towards The Blue Bridge. Your skipper will point it out as you pass — keep your camera ready, because from the water you see details that are easily missed from the street.
Want to see it in person? All our cruises follow the heart of this route, and with a private cruise you can even ask your skipper to linger a little longer at your favourite spots.
