Zandhoek pic 7 gevelsteen IN DEN GOVDEN REAEL

The Gouden Reael is a traditional designation for an area of the city 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 ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It consists of the current neighborhood

Westelijke Eilanden Westelijke Eilanden (, Western Islands) are three islands in the Centrum district of Amsterdam: Bickerseiland, Prinseneiland and Realeneiland. They are located to the south of the IJ and the Zeeheldenbuurt, to the north of the railway line betwee ...

("Western Islands", i.e. Prinseneiland, Bickerseiland and Realeneiland) plus the Westerdokseiland,

Haarlemmerbuurt Haarlemmerbuurt is a neighbourhood in Amsterdam, in the Dutch province of North Holland, and is part of the borough Centrum. The central artery of the area is formed by the streets ''Haarlemmerdijk'' and ''Haarlemmerstraat'', the old road to Haarle ...

and Planciusbuurt. A 'Gouden Reael' (" golden real") was a Spanish coin from the 16th century. The birth house of

Laurens Reael Laurens Reael (22 October 1583 – 21 October 1637) was an employee of the Dutch East India Company, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1616 to 1619, and an admiral of the Dutch Republican Navy from 1625 to 1627. Early life L ...

(1583–1637), third

Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies The governor-general of the Dutch East Indies ( nl, gouverneur-generaal van Nederlands Indië) represented Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949. Occupied by Japanese fo ...

, had a golden real on its signpost or gable stone, from which the family took its name. In 1648, the Reael family, which counted several prominent Amsterdam citizens, built a warehouse on the ''Zandhoek'', again with a golden real gablestone. Around 1800 this building turned into a popular inn, "De Gouden Reael", which was made famous by a 1940

Jan Mens Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

novel by the same name, and after which the neighborhood has been named. In 1610 and 1615 three artificial islands (Prinseneiland, Bickerseiland and Realeneiland) were built as an extension of the harbor. Until the end of the 19th century this was an area with many wharfs, little industries and warehouses, related to the shipping trades. After the second World war the desolated area was discovered by many artists (

Jan Sierhuis Jan Sierhuis is a painter, born in 1928, in 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 Th ...

Johan van der Keuken Johan van der Keuken (; 4 April 1938 – 7 January 2001) was a Dutch documentary filmmaker, author, and photographer. In a career that spanned 42 years, Van der Keuken produced 55 documentary films, six of which won eight awards. He also wrot ...

Jef Diederen Jef is a Dutch-language masculine given name primarily used in Belgium. It is a short form of Jozef/ Josef, used also in Breton. People with the name include: *Jef Billings (born 1945), American figure skating costume designer *Jef Boeke (born 19 ...

, Reinier Lucassen,

Peter Schat Peter Ane Schat (5 June 1935, in Utrecht – 3 February 2003, in Amsterdam) was a Dutch composer. Schat studied composition with Kees van Baaren at the Utrecht Conservatoire and the Royal Conservatory of The Hague from 1952 until 1958, and then ...

among others), who established their homes and studios in the vacant buildings. During the second half of the 20th century the old warehouses were transformed into apartments one after another, and new apartments were built. Nevertheless, a lot of the atmosphere of the past is still present in the old buildings and wooden drawbridges.

External links

History of the neighborhoodWebsite of the former inn (now a restaurant)
{{coord, 52, 23, 10, N, 4, 53, 16, E, region:NL, display=title Neighbourhoods of Amsterdam