t Houseboats line a canal in Jordaan on a summer’s evening
t Houseboats line a canal in Jordaan on a summer’s evening
Houseboats line the canals of Amsterdam, homes to people who prefer the alternative lifestyle of being afloat. Moored on the Prinsengracht canal on the edge of the Jordaan, the Hendrika Maria is a showcase of life aboard an Amsterdam houseboat. Built in 1914, it served as a barge and transported coal, sand and gravel until the 1960s, when it was converted into a houseboat.
It is now the world’s only houseboat museum. When inside, visitors can make themselves at home. Note the tiny original kitchen with its green-enamel pots and pans, a hand-pump for water and cosy cupboard-beds, and then take a seat in the surprisingly spacious living room, furnished in chintzy 1950s style, where coffee is served.
t The cosy lounge, Houseboat Museum
This is a group of hofjes, the earliest of which was founded in 1616 by a textile merchant, Claes Claesz Anslo. Rescued from ruin in the 1960s by the Stichting Diogenes Foundation, the two sets of houses that comprise this hofje are now student lodgings. The houses are set around a pretty little courtyard.
One of the oldest surviving and most distinctive is the “Huis met de Schrijvende Hand” (house with the writing hand), at Egelantiersstraat 52. Once the home of a teacher, it dates from the 1630s.
Before the Alteration, the Catholic Church usually provided subsidized housing for the poor and elderly, particularly women. During the 17th and 18th centuries, rich merchants and Protestant organizations took on this charitable role and built hundreds of alms-house complexes. Known as hofjes, these groups of pretty houses were planned around courtyards or gardens. By providing housing for the elderly and infirm, the hofjes marked the beginning of the Dutch welfare system. Visitors are admitted to some but are asked to respect the residents’ privacy. Many hofjes are found in the Jordaan and some still serve their original purpose.
Experience Jordaan and the Western Islands
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De Star Hofje’s lovely flower garden makes it one of the prettiest of the district’s hofjes. The place is very peaceful and pretty lanterns with a royal crown on each add to the charm. The hofje consists of a courtyard surrounded on three sides by houses with a water pump in the middle.
It gets its name from the Star Brewery, which stood here until the hofje was built in 1804. Officially known as Van Brienen Hofje, legend has it that a merchant, Jan van Brienen, founded this almshouse in gratitude for his release from a vault in which he had been accidentally imprisoned. Since 1995, it has been owned by a housing foundation.
t De Star Hofje's beautiful garden
Until it was turned into almshouses for elderly Mennonite widows, this was the site of a clandestine church. The Kleine Zon (little sun) was a splinter group of the Noah’s Ark congregation. Look for the carved sun (zon) under the 1765 clock in the courtyard.
t I Amsterdam sign, Westerpark
The wasteland that surrounds Amsterdam’s former gasworks (Westergasfabriek) was transformed into a 14-ha (35-acre) green park in the early 2000s. Facilities include playgrounds, bars, restaurants and several performance spaces. The gasworks itself has been redeveloped and is being rented out to various associations that organize music and food festivals, a variety of performances and exhibitions. The Westergasfabriek is now one of the city’s foremost cultural destinations.
Nearby is Het Schip (The Ship), one of the most iconic buildings by the Amsterdam School. Designed by Michel de Klerk in 1919, this apartment block contains 102 homes and the Museum Het Schip, displaying a restored working-class house.
Fifteen instruments and some 15,000 piano rolls are on show here, celebrating the automatic pianos that were introduced in 1900. There are regular performances by pianists. Sadly, the museum faces closure as it might lose city council subsidies.
Experience Jordaan and the Western Islands
This statue by Kees Verkade depicts Johnny Jordaan (1924–89). Born in the Jordaan, Johannes Hendricus van Musscher became a star in the 1950s as a levenslied singer. This Dutch popular music reflects on the many realities of life – songs can be sweet and light or bitter and dark. The city’s songbird, Jordaan’s hits included “Gif mij maar Amsterdam” and “Bij ons in de Jordaan”.
Originally a defended gate- way into Amsterdam, the Haarlemmerpoort marked the beginning of the busy route to Haarlem. The current gateway, dating from 1840, was built for King William II’s triumphal entry into the city and officially named Willemspoort. However, as the third gateway to be built on or close to this site, it is still known as the Haarlemmerpoort by Amsterdammers.
Designed by Cornelis Alewijn (1788–1839), the Neo-Classical gatehouse was used as tax offices in the 19th century and was made into flats in 1986. Traffic no longer goes through the gate, since a bridge has been built over the adjoining Westerkanaal. Beyond the Haarlemmerpoort is the peaceful Westerpark, a pleasant retreat.
t A busy market in front of Noorderkerk
Built for poor settlers in the Jordaan, the North Church was the first in Amsterdam to be constructed in the shape of a Greek cross. Its layout around a central pulpit allowed all in the encircling pews to see and hear well.
The church was designed by Hendrick de Keyser, who died in 1621, a year after building began. It was completed in 1623. The church is still well attended by a Calvinist congregation, and bears many reminders of the working-class origins of the Jordaan. By the entrance is a sculpture of three bound figures, inscribed: “Unity is Strength”. It commemorates the Jordaanoproer (Jordaan Riot) of 1934 over a reduction in social security. On the south façade is a plaque recalling the strike of February 1941, a protest at the Nazis’ deportation of Jews.
There are regular concerts held on Saturday afternoons.
Experience Jordaan and the Western Islands
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