The Kloveniersdoelen was one of three
doelens (shooting ranges) for the Amsterdam
schutterij (civic guard). The other two shooting ranges were the
Handboogdoelen and
Voetboogdoelen, both located along the
Singel. The Handboogdoelen civic guard was armed with
longbows, while the Voetboogdoelen civic guard wielded
crossbows and the Kloveniersdoelen civic guard used an early type of
musket, the
arquebus. The Kloveniersdoelen was the oldest of the three. Amsterdam's militia
guilds were formed in the
Middle Ages to defend the city against attack. Around 1580, at the behest of
William of Orange, these Medieval guilds were incorporated into a new, much larger civic guard to defend the
newly Protestant city against the
Spanish during the
Dutch revolt which ultimately led to a full-blown war of independence, the
Eighty Years' War. Officers of this new civic guard were recruited from the well-to-do of Amsterdam. The original building for the
kloveniers guild was constructed in 1382 and stood along what is now Oude Doelenstraat, east of
Dam Square. In 1520 it was replaced with a new building on Nieuwe Doelenstraat, adjacent to a defensive tower in the city walls known as
Swych Utrecht ("Be quiet, Utrecht"), as its primarily role had been to defend the city against attacks by the
Bishopric of Utrecht. In the mid-17th century, the Eighty Years' War ended and the civic guard no longer served a military purpose. The civic guard continued to exist, but membership became an honorary position and the
doelens assumed a primarily social function. The wealthiest and most powerful citizens of
Dutch Golden Age Amsterdam came together in the
doelens to eat, drink and smoke. The elegant building was also used for official receptions and dinners, and to provide lodgings to prominent visitors to Amsterdam.
Marie de' Medici and Czar
Peter the Great viewed a fireworks display on the
Amstel river from a window of the Kloveniersdoelen. '' in the great hall of the Kloveniersdoelen in August 1748 From 9 August to 15 September 1748, the great hall hosted public gatherings of the
Doelisten, a local protest group of mostly merchants opposing the perceived
nepotism and corruption of the well-to-do who dominated Amsterdam's city government. The crowds that gathered in the hall were so large, some feared that the floor would collapse under the weight. In 1882/1883, the entire complex was demolished and replaced by the Doelen Hotel, which still stands on this location. == Painting ==