Jewish Or Not - Put This At The Top Of Your List…read more.... The Jewish community in Amsterdam has a long and illustrious history dating back at least to the late 1400s when Sephardic Jews from Portugal and Spain sought refuge from the Inquisition. This handsome museum is dedicated to making information about the community accessible to residents of The Netherlands as well as visitors to the country. The museum is on the site of 4 former synagogues and highlights collections based on 4 themes: Traditions and customs, religious holidays, daily life and history of the local Jewish people. The scope of information and material will certainly open your eyes and probably your heart. My group of 3 tourists from California joined several other people from the US for a tour led by local guide extraordinaire, Naomi Koopmans. We spent an hour at the neighboring Portuguese Synagogue followed by 2+ hours at the museum. You can literally spend a day at the museum. One of the highlights was a walk through the Holocaust Memorial outside the building. There's plenty of room to sit and contemplate the lives of local residents lost to the madness of the Nazis. Every city should be as fortunate as Amsterdam to have an institution as worthwhile as this Jewish Museum.

Imagine. A museum…read moreis created in 1932 to showcase Jewish history, religion, culture and customs in Amsterdam's Jewish Quarter. Eight years later, on May 10, 1940, The Netherlands is invaded by Nazi Germany. Within a week, the Dutch army surrenders. Of the 210,000 Dutch victims of WWII, 102,000 are Jews who are murdered during the Holocaust. It is 3/4 of the Jewish population of the Netherlands. Following the Nazi occupation, the museum was forced to close. Much of its original collection lost. In 1955, it reopened. It moved to its current location in 1987 occupying a square of previously unconnected abandoned synagogues in the Jewish Quarter across from the Portuguese Synagogue. Today, the four former synagogues showcase collections based on different themes. Jewish traditions and customs. Religious holidays. Daily life. History of the Jews from 1600 to the 1890s. The Holocaust. Interesting to see the Amsterdam Machzor written in Cologne in 1250. How did it survive all these years? Why did Sephardic Jews from Portugal settled in Amsterdam in 1600? See the Rintel Menorah donated to the Great Synagogue by Sarah Rintel in the 1750s. It is over a meter tall and a meter and a half wide. Visit the cafe for a taste of Dutch Jewish cuisine. The fish cake sandwich served on a seeded challah bread was delicious. Grab a few biscuits from the glass jars to go with your coffee or hot tea. Admission is part of the Joods Cultureel Kwartier ticket for 30 euros. It is also included in the I Amsterdam Card. Single museum tickets are also available for 20 euros. It is sad to think how this was once a thriving Jewish community that was devastated by the Holocaust. The Joods Historic Museum Complex is the only museum in The Netherlands dedicated to telling the history, customs and religion of the Jewish people.