Bushuis, Architectural structure in central Amsterdam, Netherlands
The Bushuis is a building with pointed arches, tall glass windows, and decorative canopies showing neo-Gothic style from the Netherlands. Its façade shapes the streetscape along a busy waterway, with interior spaces that reveal layers of different periods and uses.
The building began as an artillery depot in the middle of the 16th century and became the main administrative seat of the Dutch East India Company from 1603 onward. This shift made it a center for the Netherlands' trading expansion overseas.
The building served as a place where decisions shaped global trade routes and colonial ventures. Today, students walk through spaces that once held the authority to direct ships and commerce across oceans.
The building sits directly on a busy waterway in the city center and is easily reached on foot. Visitors should know that it functions partly as an active university space, so not all areas may be accessible at all times.
The grand meeting chamber was restored to its original condition in 1976 and displays the exact setting where the highest decision-making group of the Company managed global business. The room gives a direct sense of the power that was exercised from this place.
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