voormalige Paleis van Justitie

The voormalige Paleis van Justitie stands in Amsterdam as a monumental building shaped by several civic lives.

Its story begins with the Aalmoezeniersweeshuis, an orphanage built here between 1663 and 1665.

Between 1825 and 1829, city architect Jan de Greef transformed and enlarged the orphanage into a courthouse, completed internally in 1836.

Justice services moved here from the Prinsenhof.

Brick and sandstone form a neoclassical façade with three risalites, Corinthian pilasters, a heavy cornice, and a balustrade.

Jacob van Lennep’s attributed poetry appears above the first-floor windows.

The central projection contains the entrance hall and staircase, while earlier spaces later held a city library, hospitals, archives, and added floors.

A planned square and bridge never appeared before the entrance.

After judicial departments moved away, careful renovation preserved the façade and monumental character while creating Rosewood Amsterdam, with 134 rooms, three restaurants, a bar, three inner gardens, and a spa.

Water cellars beneath the former courtyards became archive rooms, leaving a memorable trace of how Amsterdam kept adapting this place.