The Financial History of Amsterdam

We are very proud of this unique trademark tour of Historical Amsterdam Tours. We have developed a tour which is all about the quite astonishing legacy of the financial sector of Amsterdam. More than any other city Amsterdam can be considered the cradle of modern capitalism. Follow the money with a knowledgeable tour-guide along the world’s first stock exchange, multinational cooperation, central bank and economic bubble.

On this 2 hours walking tour we take a walk through the historical center of Amsterdam, starting from the Beursplein. In a small group we walk along five centuries of Amsterdam’s financial history. You don’t need even need to have any specific affinity with the financial sector to appreciate this tour, as address financial Amsterdam from a historical angle.

Follow the money

Beursplein 5 – the Amsterdam Stock Exchange – is a good spot to start the story of Amsterdam as a business minded town. A story that culminated in the founding of the world’s first limited company, first central exchange bank and first stock exchange. Three innovations that ushered a Golden Age for Amsterdam and the young Dutch Republic.

First Stock Exchange

Via the Dam – the historical central square – we head into the Medieval alleyways to discover the Flemish link to the sudden success of Amsterdam in the early 1600s. We’ll visit the street where the first stock in the world was issued and which is still the location of the municipal exchange bank.

Into the vaults

We walk along the first National Central Bank and the Dutch Trade Company. Two institutions established to counter the country’s bankruptcy after the French period, early 1800s. We enter the monumental Dutch Trade Company building, which evolved into a bank. Now it houses the City’s Archives, where we dive into its spectacular vault in the basement. For years the elite of Amsterdam stored its fortune here. The City’s Archives can also serve as a welcome sanitary stop or coffee break halfway through the tour.

The Golden Bend

Around the corner awaits the most prestigious part of the Amsterdam Canal Ring; the so-called Golden Bend. This strip of merchant’s houses was dominated by banking families in the 1600s and 1700s. There were days when Russian czars and American presidents knocked on the doors of these banking houses. Also find out more about the bankers’ involvement in Dutch slave trade.

Financing WWII

Along the way you learn more about banking during WWII and the role of bankers after the war: The 1960s protests and protests against consumerism in general and former banker – then Mayor – Van Hall specifically.

Future of Finance

We finish the tour close to the location where we started. Here we overlook the current position of Amsterdam in the financial market. What is the future of finance in Amsterdam in a time of digital revolution and political turmoil?