The Slaak Rotterdam

a Tribute Portfolio Hotel by Marriott

In 1951 Slaakhuys arose as a so-called ‘reconstruction monument’. It was build on the ruins of a building called ‘Voorwaarts’ designed by H.P. Berlage in 1907 and destroyed during the bombings of 1940. Slaakhuys is based on a design by Jo Vegter and commissioned by de Arbeiderspers to house its socialist newspaper ‘Het Vrije Volk’. Het Vrije Volk was established in 1900 as Het Volk (“The People”), the official organ of the Socialist Democratic Labour Party. During the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II, it was suppressed by the Nazis, but it resumed publication in 1945 as Het Vrije Volk. During its heydays it had over 325.000 subscribers making it the biggest newspaper of the Netherlands with newsrooms consisting of over 300 editors. Slaakhuys had a printing press, several newsrooms and a bookshop. Het Vrije Volk stayed in the building from 1955 until 1972. On March 30, 1991 the last edition of the daily newspaper Het Vrije Volk appeared. In the same year Het Rotterdams Dagblad arose out of the merger of Het Vrije Volk with Rotterdams Nieuwsblad. In 2005 Het Rotterdams Dagblad fused again and was taken over by Het Algemeen Dagblad, which still exists today.