Mint Tower

The Munttoren - the Mint Tower - stands on Muntplein in central Amsterdam and is the surviving remnant of the medieval Regulierspoort city gate of 1480. After a 1618 fire Hendrick de Keyser rebuilt the upper section with a wooden spire and carillon in Renaissance style. The tower got its name in 1672, the rampjaar, when during the Franco-Dutch War the Dutch mint was temporarily relocated here and silver coins were struck with the Amsterdam stamp. The carillon cast by Francois Hemony in 1668 still plays every quarter hour - Wednesdays at 2 pm bring a live recital by the city carilloneur. The interior is not open to visitors, but from the outside this is one of the most photographed towers in the city.