2004: The opening of the Hermitage-Amsterdam exhibition complex in the Netherlands

On 24 February 2004, Amsterdam witnessed the formal opening of the State Hermitage's Hermitage-Amsterdam exhibition complex.

The creation of a branch of the Hermitage in Amsterdam is the result of the realization of the “Hermitage on the Amstel” project devised by the Hermitage Director Mikhail Piotrovsky and Ernst Veen, the president of the Friends of the Hermitage Foundation in the Netherlands.

In June 2001, in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange, who were viewing the Hermitage in the course of a state visit, Mikhail Piotrovsky and Ernst Veen signed an agreement on the opening of a permanent exhibition facility for the museum in the Dutch capital.

The signed agreement called for works of art to be provided to the "Hermitage on the Amstel" foundation from the Hermitage collection for temporary exhibitions lasting between four months and two years. This agreement will remain in force until 2016, and will then be renewed every five years. It is expected that around 250,000 people will visit the Hermitage-Amsterdam complex each year, with the one US dollar from the cost of each entrance ticket being transferred to the Hermitage's account. Two major exhibitions a year from the collections of the Hermitage and the Russian Museum are planned. The Hermitage-Amsterdam complex intends to open an educational centre for children and also a Hermitage information shop.

The municipality of Amsterdam has transferred to the "Hermitage on the Amstel" foundation the Amstelhof, an architectural complex made up of several buildings located around a garden. The main block, built in the Classical style in 1681, has retained its original appearance. Behind it, on the canal called Nieuwe Herengracht, stands the Neerlandia building, constructed in the late 19th century.

An exhibition of Greek Gold (February - August 2004) from the collection of the Hermitage's Treasure Gallery became the first, opening the Hermitage's exhibition facility in Amsterdam. Several more exhibitions will be held in the Neerlandia building before the Amstelhof opens.

Reconstruction of the Amstelhof will produce a museum with spacious exhibition rooms, where it will be possible to display large-format works of art. The project envisages a rest area for visitors, convenient public entrances and transport access. The complete reconstruction should be finished by late 2007, giving the Hermitage over 4,000 square metres of exhibition space in Amsterdam.

The architectural complex Amstelhof
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The opening of the "Hermitage-Amsterdam" exhibition complex
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At the exhibition of Greek Gold
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