Amsterdam Centraal Railway Station - History

History

The building of Amsterdam Centraal is situated on three artificial islands, resting on 8,687 wooden piles been driven deep into the muddy and sandy soil. The current location of the station is not the site the city of Amsterdam had originally wanted; other possibilities included somewhere near the Leidseplein, the Weesperplein, or in the vicinity of the modern-day Sarphatipark. Officials in The Hague, however, felt that the location at the head of the city, along The IJ, was the best location. This was viewed as a highly controversial decision, as it effectively cut off Amsterdam from its own waterfront, making it, for all purposes, an inland city. In his History of Amsterdam, Dutch historian Geert Mak writes that:

Almost all of Amsterdam's own experts and others involved in thought this to be a catastrophic plan, 'the most disgusting possible attack on the beauty and glory of the capital'. Nevertheless, the building of the Central Station in front of the open harbour was forced through by the railway department of the Ministry of Transport in The Hague, and the Home Secretary, Thorbecke. Finally, the plan made its way through the Amsterdam municipal council by a narrow majority. (Mak 1994)

• Amsterdam Centraal station, c. 1890-1900.

• Interior of the station as seen from platform 2

• The back of the station seen from the water

• The modernised main entrance (November 2011)