The name might already hint at it: there’s a clear connection between the State and the Rijksmuseum. All the objects displayed in the museum are technically owned by the State, except for one: Rembrandt’s The Night Watch. This painting is owned by the city of Amsterdam, which perhaps gives it a special status within the museum.
Rapid Evacuation
In 1934, as Hitler was rising to power in Germany, the Rijksmuseum’s management installed a special slot beneath The Night Watch. This escape route is still visible inside the museum through seams in the floor. Five years after its installation, in 1939, the year before the outbreak of World War II, the painting was actually removed through this slot. During the war, it was stored for three years in the caves beneath the Sint-Pietersberg near Maastricht.
Since then, the slot hasn’t been used for emergencies. However, after the museum’s renovation, it was utilized once more in 2013 to reinstall The Night Watch in its current location.
Important City Property
As mentioned, The Night Watch is the only artwork in the Rijksmuseum not owned by the State but by the city of Amsterdam. This unique ownership perhaps grants it a distinct status within the museum.
Museum Street for Cars
Not too long ago, cars used to drive through the museum’s passageway, right beneath that secret slot. We previously wrote an article about this road, which had the illustrious nickname: the shortest highway in the Netherlands.
If you cycle under the Rijksmuseum, take a moment to look up: subtly integrated into the ceiling is the Night Watch slot!
