In 2025, Amsterdam turns 750 years old. To mark this special anniversary, the city created something extraordinary, a time capsule that will not be opened for another 50 years.

The capsule was placed into the ground during Open Monumentendag 2025, in a public event filled with meaning. There were speeches, music, and the presence of both the city’s leaders and its youngest voices, including the children’s mayor. A local youth collective also designed a beautiful zine, a reminder of how today’s stories will be part of tomorrow’s history.

The idea of a time capsule is simple, yet powerful. It is a way of saying to the future: this is who we were, this is what mattered to us. The objects, texts, and symbols inside will carry the hopes and questions of 2025 into the year 2075, when they are finally revealed.

Why is this significant? Because it makes us pause and think about what we would preserve. In a fast-moving city like Amsterdam, where history and change are always side by side, a time capsule is both a memory and a promise.

The ceremony reminded me that history is not only about the past. It is also about what we decide to leave behind for the future. Even as visitors, tourists, or residents, we are part of that story.

Until the next adventure in Amsterdam.

Joanna

Your Photographer in Amsterdam