Watch the gun being fired, the crew taking their meals on board and loading the ship’s cargo. Then stroll through the centuries-old Admiralty storehouse and see the famous collection of old ships models, charts and paintings. Unearth the Dutch trading ventures and voyages of discovery, about Amsterdam in the golden age, the Dutch East India Company, distant countries, unusual cultures, the mercantile spirit and the colonies.

The idea for a historical maritime museum emanated from the enthusiasm of a few individuals -with connections in shipping firms and the navy- who had helped to raise the awareness about maritime history.

Situated in a 350-year old warehouse, originally built for the Admiralty of Amsterdam as the National Maritime Magazine, the Netherlands Maritime Museum contains one of the world’s most important maritime collections with a vast display covering four centuries of Dutch naval history.

Stretching over more than twenty five rooms, the permanent exhibition reveals the importance of the Netherlands as a sea-faring nation from its ‘Golden Age’ of explorers and merchants through to the modern day container port. The exhibits consist of paintings as well as antiquarian maps and navigation instruments. There are also numerous models and a full-sized replica of the Dutch East-India merchantman, ‘Amsterdam’, which sank off the south coast of England on her maiden voyage in 1749. The ship is open all year round, but between April and October it is managed by actors who display what life would have been like on board. The displays continue throughout the day and include artillery exercises, a burial at sea, an officers meeting and a typical ship’s meal.

In the museum area are specialist nautical and maritime shops selling modern and antiquarian books and maps, replica instruments and the largest selection of model ships and kits in Europe.

The present home of the Dutch Maritime Museum is situated in the arsenal of the Netherlands Navy long ago in the 18th century. The Naval Depot was built in 1656, and then crammed with everything that warships and their crews require. Later it was used to store clothing for navy personnel. The National Naval Depot is the location of one of the most important sights in Amsterdam, due to its rich historical charge.

The Dutch Maritime Museum has a collection of remarkable collection of maps, models and displays of real-sized ships. Tourists are offered the chance to visit Amsterdam Ordnance Datum and get a better image of how things must have looked like in middle age Amsterdam and how commerce was made back then. The Netherlands Maritime Museum also brings some of the flavor of the colonies and the countries overseas.

A unique feature of the museum is Jan Carel Josephus van Speijk - a true blue 19th-century Dutch naval hero. The true Dutch naval commander has been immortalized in many paintings and on objects. In the Maritime Museum Amsterdam one can admire a rather bizarre and unique relic of Van Speijk. The permanent exhibition of the museum displays a part of his right arm. It has been preserved in alcohol. It is a relic which is to be appreciated by one and all.