A Rijksmonument in the Netherlands is a heritage protected building or object that is of general interest because of the beauty, the scientific significance of the cultural and historical value. This is described in the Monument Law of 1988.
To be designated, a place must be over 50 years old and meet additional criteria. In The Netherlands there are nearly 62 thousand national monuments built with status Rijksmonument.
Many Dutch tourist attractions are rijksmonuments, such as castles or windmills. Among the rijksmonuments are also many churches, Historical buildings, Houses, bridges and many other structures, because of their architectural and historical importance.
Some (not all) national monuments feature a blue and white shield. That shield is created during the Hague Convention of 1954, and indicates a property that must be protected in times of war and may therefore occur in modern buildings such as major archives, libraries and museums. The recognition of objects by this shield should lead to respect for the heritage by warring factions during the fighting. It is an international recognition stabbing, which may be already in peacetime applied to certain national monuments, and of which appearance, shape and use are laid down in 1954.
In 2010, the National Office of Cultural Heritage started with plans to introduce a separate, different, shield for monuments should not wear blue and white shield. On September 11, 2014, this new shield was published by the ANWB and is available for municipal, provincial and national monuments. The first monument that got this new shield was the Ridderzaal in The Hague.
A large number of municipalities in the Netherlands has its own shield to the state and municipal monuments. So Nijmegen has a monument in the city shield colors red and black. On the shield of a national monument in Nijmegen is a Dutch golden lion in the bottom point of the shield. A municipal monument in the lower section of a white double-headed eagle in the middle with a double-tailed lion from the coats of arms of Nijmegen.
All Dutch National Monuments can very easy be found in de free Dutch National Cultural Heritage register.
The official register can be found here: Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed.
This website contains details of all the monuments in the Netherlands designated by the government as a protected monument. These are national monuments of national importance.
Almost all national protected monuments are privately owned.