Munttoren (Mint Tower)
Keyser, Hendrik de, the elder
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Alternate file
Alternative Title
Munt
Date
1620Description
Munttoren seen from the river Amstel; The Mint or Coin Tower stands on the busy Muntplein square, where the Amstel river and the Singel canal meet. The tower was originally part of the Regulierspoort, one of the main gates in Amsterdam's medieval city wall. The gate, built in the year 1480 consisted of two towers and a guard house. After the gate went up in flames in a 1618 fire, only the guard house and part of the western tower remained standing. The tower was then rebuilt in Amsterdam Renaissance style in 1620, with an eight-sided top half and elegant open spire designed by Hendrick de Keyser, featuring a clockwork with four clockfaces and a carillon of 38 bells. The carillon was made in 1668 by Pieter Hemony; it still sounds the hour and a weekly carillon concert is given. The name comes from the fact that the tower was temporarily used to mint coins during the war year of 1672. Source: Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page (accessed 7/13/2014)
Type of Work
tower; campanileSubject
architecture, military or war, Timekeeping, city defenses, Seventeenth century
Rights
Rights Statement
Licensed for educational and research use by the MIT community only