H’ART Museum occupies the Amstelhof, a riverside care home built for older women in the 1680s. Its long façade and courtyard reflect church-run care, while later museum chapters—from Hermitage Amsterdam to international partnerships—show how the building continues to serve a changing city.
Quick facts
The Amstelhof opened in 1683 as the Diaconie Oude Vrouwen Huys, a home for older women connected to Amsterdam’s Reformed congregation.
Its last residents moved to a more suitable care home in 2007; Hermitage Amsterdam opened in the restored complex in 2009.
H’ART Museum adopted its name in 2023 and now works with the Centre Pompidou, British Museum, and Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Get directions to H’ART Museum. Confirm the visitor entrance and current access with the venue before travelling.
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The Amstelhof’s long façade follows the Amstel, but the building was not planned as an art museum. In 1683 it opened as the Diaconie Oude Vrouwen Huys, a charitable home for older women connected to Amsterdam’s Reformed congregation. Today the complex houses H’ART Museum. The shift from a home for people needing care to an international exhibition venue is a striking change of purpose, yet both chapters make the building a public address rather than a private residence.
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