Guided tour of the history of Huis Marseille

Caroline Hanken, author of the book Een huis genaamd Marseille (‘A house named Marseille’), takes you on a walk through Huis Marseille, in the footsteps of former residents of this canal house who, with their varied and sometimes eventful lives, cover 350 years of Amsterdam’s history. From the flamboyant merchant who had Huis Marseille built at the height of his fortune in 1665, to the deeply religious, Mennonite diamond cutter who placed the building next to it. In three and a half centuries a colourful parade of characters passes by: an immensely rich confectioner, a squabbling mayor’s son, a wealthy widow from a powerful regent family, an early feminist, a disappointed patriot, a writer from Indonesia, various art collectors, a philanthropist, a film distributor, a passionate lawyer, a fugitive hiding in the secret annex… Each one forms a link in a long chain that connects the current photography museum Huis Marseille with the seventeenth century.