Cruquiuseiland (English: Cruquius Island) is a suburb the

Eastern Docklands The Eastern Docklands ( nl, Oostelijk Havengebied) is a neighborhood of Amsterdam, Netherlands, located between the IJ and the Nieuwe Vaart in the borough of Amsterdam-Oost. The harbor area was constructed in the late nineteenth century to allow f ...

in the

Zeeburg Zeeburg () is a former borough of Amsterdam. It had 52,701 residents (January 2009) and an area of 19.31 km². The construction of new islands to the east called IJburg made it the most rapidly growing borough of Amsterdam. On 1 May 2010 Zeeb ...

district of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. The majority of the area is the man-made Cruquius Island itself, although some adjacent land is also part of the area. It is bordered on the north by Borneolaan (between Dirk Vreekenstraat and C. van Eesterenlaan), the west is near bounded by rail, the south by Lozingskanaal and the east by the Rijnkannel.

History

Cruquius Island was built between 1875 and 1925 originally for the expansion of the

Port of Amsterdam The port of Amsterdam ( nl, Haven van Amsterdam) is a seaport in Amsterdam in North Holland, Netherlands. It is the 4th busiest port in Europe by metric tonnes of cargo. The port is located on the bank of a former bay named the IJ and the Nor ...

. Previous to this the area was a swampy wetlands, which was a popular smuggling route into Amsterdam. The 19th century saw a movement away from private

slaughterhouse A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

s, and toward public slaughterhouses. To this end, the Veemarkt (Cattle market) was provisioned in Cruquiuseiland. It was designed by the architects A.C. Boerma and E. Damen, and constructed in 1887. There was a marketplace and stables for cows, calves, horses, sheep and pigs. The area also included municipal customs warehouse, Huisje Insulinde (Office of the NV Oliefabrieken Insulinde, built in 1913, now a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

) and an abattoir which was expanded in 1919. Only eight buildings have been preserved, including the homes of the market manager and the weigher, the canteen building with monumental gate and a police station. The buildings are the oldest building of the Eastern Docklands Subsequently, the majority of the area has been converted into residential buildings, although there are many business premises, particularly to the east and to the southwest side. In the late 80s former warehouses along Zeeburgerkade were converted into 390 premium houses. From 2011 through 2030 the Eastern end of Cruquiuseiland is being transformed from an industrial estate to residential area. Adamoostgebied

Museums

Cruquiuseiland hosts the Persmuseum ("The Press Museum") and the Museum Perron Oost

References

{{Authority control Neighbourhoods of Amsterdam