A Brief History of Vondelpark, Amsterdam

Recognised as the most popular urban park in the Netherlands, Amsterdam’s Vondelpark attracts over 10 million visitors every year. This impressive statistic is partly due to the park’s fascinating history and enduring place within Dutch culture.
Before the 19th century, the land on the southern quarter of Amsterdam’s canal belt was largely uninhabited. In 1864, a group of affluent citizens decided to develop this swampy plot into recreation grounds and commissioned landscape architect Jan David Zocher to design a private park. A year later, their plans were well underway and the first section of the park opened to the public.
These gardens were originally known as het Nieuwe Park (the New Park) and visitors were only permitted inside after paying an entrance fee. A few years later, a statue of Dutch poet Joost van den Vondel was constructed in the park’s centre and people eventually began to call the entire area Vondelpark.