Felix Meritis Building

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  • Box office 09:00 - 19:00

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Lonely Planet review

This centre for the performing arts was built in 1787 by Jacob Otten Husly for an organisation called Felix Meritis (Latin for 'Happy through Merit'), a society of wealthy residents who promoted the ideals of the Enlightenment through the study of science, arts and commerce.

The colonnaded façade served as a model for that of the Concertgebouw, and its oval concert hall (where Brahms, Grieg and Saint Saëns performed) was copied as the Concertgebouw's Kleine Zaal (Small Hall) for chamber music.

Nowadays the reconstituted Felix Meritis Foundation promotes European performing arts and literature. On a sunny morning the café's huge windows make for comfy reading.