Time capsule to be buried on Dam Square to mark Amsterdam’s 750th anniversary

A time capsule will be buried on Dam Square in Amsterdam to celebrate the capital’s 750th anniversary on Saturday, during Open Monument Day. The plan is for the capsule to be opened again in 50 years.

According to the municipality, the contents of the capsule provide a multifaceted view of Amsterdam in 2025. It includes a letter from Mayor Femke Halsema, ten portraits of Amsterdam residents, a poem, a video, a magazine, and three stories by students about the future of the city.

Alderman Rutger Groot Wassink and children’s mayor Kiyaro will bury the capsule on the Dam starting at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.

It is the 39th edition of Open Monument Day. A total of 50 monuments around the city will open their doors to the public, with special activities also organized at the locations on Saturday and Sunday. The event is free of charge for the visitors.

The burial of time capsules is a centuries-old tradition often practiced on special occasions, such as the construction of monuments or the celebration of important anniversaries. A well-known example is the time capsule in the Marathon Tower, placed during the 1928 Olympic Games. When the tower was restored in 2012, the capsule was unearthed again. People will be able to climb the marathon tower on Saturday.