After nearly five years of renovation, DNB’s headquarters on Frederiksplein in Amsterdam reopened to employees at the start of this year. Recently, De Nieuwe Schatkamer, an exhibition showcasing the bank's history and role, was also opened to the public.
During the visit, students were given a guided tour of the exhibition. Two DNB staff members welcomed the group and provided an overview of the bank's key responsibilities, many of which were already familiar to students from their macroeconomics courses.
The tour included a visit to the bank’s old vault, which previously housed the country's gold reserves until 2020. The gold has since been relocated to a more secure facility in the centre of the country. The vault, built behind one-meter-thick walls, featured a protective corridor that could be flooded with water from the canals to deter intruders.
Following this, students explored the interactive exhibits, where they took on the role of financial supervisors in a financial oversight game, assessed whether damaged banknotes should be reimbursed, and learned about the history of money and the Dutch Central Bank.