New Church (The), Amsterdam

The Nieuwe Kerk is a 15th-century building, partly destroyed and rebuilt again after several fires. Vying for importance with the Town Hall & Royal Palace, the House of the Lord lost out in its rivalry with the Town Hall because it was denied a tower by the city's magistrate. Ceremonies for abdication and succession to the throne are held here. The queens of the Netherlands - Wilhelmina (1898), Juliana (1948) and Beatrix (1980), the present queen, have all been crowned in the here. Naval officer and conqueror of the Spanish Armada in the 17th Century, Michiel de Ruyter, is buried here. The exhibitions about religion, culture and lovers from other lands are the focalpoint, domestically and internationally.