Witte Huis

The Witte Huis stands out with its gleaming white facade and the ornate, almost wedding-cake style of its Art Nouveau decorations. Completed in eighteen ninety-eight, this ten-story building became the first skyscraper in Europe. Architect Willem Molenbroek faced deep skepticism from locals who argued that the soft, marshy soil of Rotterdam would never support such a heavy stone structure. To prove them wrong, he sank an extensive foundation of deep piles, and the building remains standing firm against the North Sea winds today.