Munttoren
A medieval gate that burned, survived French invasion, and still chimes every quarter hour.
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What stands here began as a 1480 city-wall gate. After a 1618 fire gutted it, Hendrick de Keyser rebuilt the tower in Amsterdam Renaissance style with an octagonal top and open spire. In 1672 — the Rampjaar, when French troops occupied much of the Dutch Republic — emergency coin-minting moved into the guard house, giving the tower its name. The carillon inside dates to 1668.
What to look for
- De Keyser's eight-sided upper half and open spire (1620), added after the fire destroyed the original gate
- Four clockfaces and the carillon by Pieter Hemony (1668), which chimes a short melody on the quarter hour
- The Neo-Renaissance guard house — not medieval but a Victorian-era replacement built 1885–1887 by architect Willem Springer
At Muntplein where the Amstel and Singel meet, steps from the flower market and the eastern end of Kalverstraat — easy to pass on foot.
Munttoren is one of 36 sights worth the detour in Amsterdam, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Amsterdam pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Amsterdam
- RijksmuseumOne million objects collected over 200 years — and the 8,000 on display include the Dutch Golden Age painters who changed what art could be.
- Amstel RiverAmsterdam literally means "Amstel Dam" — the city takes its name from a medieval dam built across this river.
- Van Gogh MuseumThe world's largest Van Gogh collection exists because his sister-in-law spent years refusing to let his unsold work disappear.
- WeespA town that Holland deliberately over-fortified — then flooded on purpose to hold back armies.
- Johan Cruyff ArenaThe Netherlands' largest stadium exists because Amsterdam lost the 1992 Olympics bid to Barcelona — and built something better anyway.
- Defence Line of Amsterdam (Stelling van Amsterdam)Dutch engineers turned the polder itself into a weapon: flood the fields to about 30 centimetres — too shallow for boats to cross — and Amsterdam becomes an island.