Admiralty of Rotterdam

Each admiralty had branches for equipping warships, protecting overseas trade and traffic on the sea and rivers, collecting taxes, and jurisdiction over loot and prize-setting.

The admiralty was based in the Prinsenhof (Rotterdam), the former St Agnes convent at Botersloot [nl].

In 1644 the Prinsenhof was demolished to make way for the construction of Nieuwemarkt, with the admiralty moving to the northwest corner of Haringvliet.

One of these stones shows the admiralty's arms, with the crossed anchors and an abbreviation of its motto Pugno Pro Patria ("I fight for the fatherland").

From the end of the 16th century, the admiralty also owned the 's-Landswerf shipyard at the northeastern corner of the Nieuwe Haven.

It was demolished and rebuilt on the same site in 1660, then extended in 1662 with a second arsenal accessed by a very wide entrance opposite the east gate.