The Munttoren is the surviving western tower of Amsterdam’s Regulierspoort, rebuilt after the 1618 fire into a clock tower. A nearby guardhouse briefly housed a mint during wartime in 1672–73, giving the tower and Muntplein their enduring name.
Quick facts
The Munttoren is the surviving western outer tower of the Regulierspoort, a former Amsterdam city gate.
The tower was raised and altered in 1620 after the 1618 fire, in a design attributed to Hendrick de Keyser by the national monument register.
Amsterdam’s guardhouse beside the tower was used for coin minting from 1672 to 1673; the tower kept the name Munttoren after minting ended.
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Guide
At Muntplein, look past the traffic and the shopfronts to the tower’s change of shape: sturdy, rounded masonry below, then a more delicate, many-sided upper stage and open lantern above. The Munttoren is not a separate monument placed beside an old gate. It is the western outer tower of the Regulierspoort, one of Amsterdam’s former city entrances. The gate’s companion tower and much of its adjoining buildings disappeared; this one remains as a fragment of the city’s defensive edge.
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