Jewish Historical Museum, Amsterdam 
Exterior of the Great Synagogue of Amsterdam, now enclosed.
For many more views, see our Jewish Museum Photo Gallery.
Lower floor of the Jewish Historical Museum, once the Great Synagogue.
Torah scroll displayed on the bima, or reading platform.
Multimedia and interactive displays bring the exhibits to life.
Decorated scroll for "Counting the Omer" between Passover and Shavuot.
The museum includes historical photos and documents, including this 1953
photo showing post-war destruction and Holocaust documents.
Interactive satellite map of the Jewish Museum in Amsterdam. For a
larger view, see our Amsterdam Map or Google Earth download.
The Jewish Historical Museum (Joods Historisch Museum) is a fine Jewish museum in the heart of Amsterdam's old Jewish Quarter. Housed in a grand 17th-century synagogue complex, the museum displays Jewish religious objects as well as Jewish art, historical artifacts, and multimedia presentations.
History
The Jewish Museum is housed in a complex of four Ashkenazi synagogues dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. In the 17th century, Ashkenazi Jews began fleeing the pogroms in Central and Eastern Europe and many found refuge in tolerant Amsterdam.
A wealthy Sephardic community (from Spain and Portugal) was already settled here, and resented the increased competition imposed by their often poorer brethren. The two communities remained general separate, with the Sephardi worshipping at the nearby Portuguese Synagogue.
The Ashkenazi built several synagogues in Amsterdam, four of which make up the museum complex:
- Obbene Sjoel (Upstairs Synagogue, 1686), where the bookshop and café are found;
- Grote Sjoel (Great Synagogue, 1671), restored and displaying religious and ceremonial exhibits;
- Dritt Sjoel (Third Synagogue, 1700);
- Neie Sjoel (New Synagogue, 1752), now given over to exhibits tracing the subject of Jewish identity;
The Jewish community that worshipped here thrived for centuries until Nazi occupation and World War II, when the vast majority of Amsterdam's Jews were killed and the synagogues were plundered. In 1987, the four Ashkenazi synagogues were restored and skillfully combined with glass-and-steel constructions into an impressive museum of Jewish history.
What to See
The museum documents the 400-year history of the Jewish people in Amsterdam and the Netherlands through a collection of unusual pieces ranging from ceremonial to domestic, antique to modern. Stars of the collection include an 18th-century Sephardic Torah Mantle, a magnificent carved wood Holy Ark dating from 1791.
Through these objects, along with photographs, artworks, interactive displays, historical video, and a study room with a library of books, the museum tells the intertwining stories of Jewish identity, Jewish religion and culture, and Jewish history in the Netherlands.
The museum presents the community in both good times and bad and provides insights into the Jewish way of life over the centuries.
The museum also includes a kosher cafe, a great place to have a cup of coffee and a pastry, or a light meal. It's quiet, inexpensive, and the food is good. You don't need to visit the museum to visit the cafe.
Quick Facts
| Address: | Jonas Daniël Meijerplein 2-4, Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Location: | Waterlooplein (Jewish Quarter) |
| Phone: | 020/626-9945 |
| URL: | http://www.jhm.nl/ |
| Tram: | 9 or 14 to Waterlooplein |
| Hours: | Daily 11am-5pm. Closed Yom Kippur. |
| Cost: | 6.50€ adults, 4€ seniors, 3€ children 13-17, 2€ children 6-12, children under 6 free |
Sources
- Personal visit (November 2006).
- Frommer's Amsterdam
- Fodor's Amsterdam
