UvA has to reverse modifications to Kartinizaal: university had no permit
The UvA must reverse major modifications to the Kartinizaal in the Oost-Indisch Huis following an order from the municipality of Amsterdam. The university appears not to have had the required permits. As a result, the fireplace mantel in the hall, among other elements, must be restored to its original state within two months.
The fireplace mantel must be repaired. The ornaments must be returned. The witjes – the traditional tiles that stood at the bottom of the fireplace – must be restored. The municipality of Amsterdam is clear in its ruling on an enforcement request submitted by the heritage organisation Vereniging Vrienden van de Amsterdamse Binnenstad (VVAB): the UvA should not have carried out the alterations to the renovated hall without the required environmental permit. The university must therefore reverse the modifications in the short term.
This marks a new chapter in the years-long debate surrounding the Kartinizaal. Until 2024, the room was known as the VOC Hall and for years contained a reconstruction of a VOC boardroom setting – complete with balustrade – featuring a long table with chairs and replicas of colonial paintings. Due to growing discomfort over the presentation of the colonial past, the UvA ultimately decided to redesign the hall. As part of that process, the room was renamed, the meeting setup was removed, the painting replicas disappeared, and the fireplace consequently lost its ornaments.
Defacement
The modifications were a thorn in the side of the VVAB. The association spoke of a “defacement of a listed national monument” and argued that the removal of the fireplace ornaments left the space with a “stripped-down appearance”. It therefore submitted an enforcement request, after which the municipal Heritage and Archaeology department carried out an inspection of the room.
A spokesperson for the UvA previously stated that the university had conducted prior research into the cultural-historical value of the interior, including the fireplace. According to the university, this assessment was carried out by the same Heritage and Archaeology department, at the university’s request. That study concluded that the fireplace did not have any particular historical value, the spokesperson said.
One step further
Nevertheless, the municipality of Amsterdam has now ruled that the university did require a permit to carry out the alterations to the Kartinizaal: “Some of the modified elements fall under the protection of the listed monument,” the municipality concluded. In fact, the municipality goes even further than the heritage association VVAB: it also determined that unauthorised changes were made to an 18th-century cabinet. The heritage association had not included that alteration in its earlier enforcement request.
According to the letter sent by the municipality to the UvA, the university must therefore “end the violations”. It has been given two months to do so, starting from the date of the letter: 8 May 2026. This means the Kartinizaal must be restored to a different appearance by early July at the latest. However, the decision only concerns the fireplace and the cabinet, not the entire room.
The UvA has now confirmed that it has received the municipality’s notice. “As previously stated, in our view we followed the correct procedures,” a university spokesperson said: “We are therefore surprised by the municipality’s ruling. We are considering our next steps.”
