Herengracht 502 1017 CB Amsterdam
This large double house is the official residence of the mayor of Amsterdam. The entrance is on the bel-etage, a French word meaning beautiful floor. On this floor are the reception rooms, where receptions are given and important guests of the city of Amsterdam are received.
On the second floor are the guest rooms and the residence of the janitor. Above that, on the third floor, the mayor lives. Downstairs are the kitchens and storage rooms. Behind the house is a garden, landscaped in the French style, with a carriage house for horses and carriages behind it.
When the house was built in 1672, warehouse doors instead of windows were installed on both sides of the main entrance. For a long time, the house served as both a warehouse and a residence. From the front, the house appears much taller and more impressive than it really is. That was a trick of the architect Andries Adolph Deutz of Assendelft.
De Ambtswoning is wheelchair accessible.
www.amsterdam.nl/bestuur-organisatie/college/burgemeester/ambtswoning/