10 things to know about Cuypers’ museum building

Cuypers’ design for the building was not the first choice, but the design that was initially selected was seen as too expensive, lacking in wall space, and not a good match for the contents of the museum.

The bicycle path that passes through the building was a required element in the original commission – the museum was to serve as a gateway connecting the old town with the new residential areas south of the city centre.

To build the Rijksmuseum, no fewer than 8,000 piles had to be driven into the ground to support the building.

After his design had been approved, Cuypers quietly modified it to make it ‘more Catholic’ – he removed several Renaissance elements and added Gothic ones.

William III of the Netherlands didn’t attend the openings, but sent Prince and Princess Von Wied in his place. William III allegedly disagreed with the choice of architect and design.

Cuypers emulated the master builders of medieval cathedrals by including a portrayal of himself in the decorations on the outside of the building.

After the museum opened 1885, there was a demand for drawing classes. So Cuypers also designed the Drawing School, or Teekenschool which opened in 1891. Cuypers even taught there.

Cuypers was also commissioned to lay out the gardens surrounding the main building, in a way that reflected various historical garden styles. The large Caucasian wingnut tree near the Villa in the garden has been there since the beginning.

Cuypers wanted to make the gardens an ‘outdoor museum’, displaying parts of historical structures that were threatened with demolition. That's why you will see the Berg gate from the city of Deventer, and several arches from Edam’s Kleine Kerk, or ‘Little Church’ in the gardens.

Discussions about how to illuminate The Night Watch led in 1906 to the building of a special extension to house it. Twenty years later, however, it was moved back to where it now hangs, in front of the extension.