Kloveniersburgwal is an

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

canal flowing south from

Nieuwmarkt Nieuwmarkt (; en, New Market) is a square in the centre of Amsterdam, Netherlands. The surrounding area is known as the Lastage neighborhood. It is situated in the borough of Amsterdam-Centrum. The square is considered part of Amsterdam's Chin ...

to the Amstel River on the edge of the medieval city, lying east of the dam in the centre of Amsterdam.

History

The Kloveniersburgwal was dug at the end of the 15th century. The

Geldersekade De Geldersekade linksonder op de Vogelvluchtkaart van Cornelis Anthonisz uit 1544. The Geldersekade is a canal and a street in Amsterdam that connects the Nieuwmarkt with the Prins Hendrikkade. The Geldersekade is in the easternmost part of De ...

, the

Singel The Singel is one of the canals of Amsterdam. The Singel encircled Amsterdam in the Middle Ages, serving as a moat around the city until 1585, when Amsterdam expanded beyond the Singel. The canal runs from the IJ bay, near the Central Statio ...

and the Kloveniersburgwal together formed the city wall around the city. After the Nieuwe Gracht (Oude Schans now) was dug and the new city walls were built, Kloveniersburgwal lost its function as a defense canal. The old city wall was taken down and they built houses on it instead. The east side became populated in the 17th century and has a few grand mansions, like the Trippenhuis, now housing the KNAW. The name 'Kloveniersburgwal' comes from a division of the civic guards, the 'kloveniers', named after the gun the guards were armed with. The kloveniers met at the ' Kloveniersdoelen' next to Swijgh Utrecht on the corner of the Kloveniersburgwal and the Nieuwe Doelenstraat. Later on their groupportrait, the famous painting ''De Nachtwacht'' (by Rembrandt), hung in the 'Kloveniersdoelen'. Nowadays, it is exhibited in the Rijksmuseum. Swijgh Utrecht was completely destroyed in 1882; the Doelenhotel was built there instead. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, starting in February 1941, Kloveniersburgwal was the border of the Jewish quarter, segregated by the Germans. In the "Jodenhoek" between Centraal Station, Kloveniersburgwal, Waterlooplein, Valkenburgerstraat, and

Prins Hendrikkade Prins Hendrikkade (Dutch for "Prince Henry's Quay") is a major street in the centre of Amsterdam. It passes Amsterdam Central Station, intersects the Damrak at the mouth of the Amstel river, and forms the southern end of the IJtunnel across the ...

, there lived more than 25,000 Jews. Kloveniersburgwal was popular with administrators at the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

, being close to its center on Oude Hoogstraat and its warehouse.

Monuments

There are some historically important monuments located at Kloveniersburgwal, for example: * 'The Trippenhuis' (1662), KLoveniersburgwal 29; * The former church from the 'Evangelisch-Lutherse Gemeente ', Kloveniersburwal 50; * 'The Bushuis' (1890) between 'The Compagnietheater' and Oude Hoogstraat; * 'The Huis Joan Poppen' (1642), which is also called 'The Gulden Steur', Kloveniersburgwal 95; * A part of the former Binnengasthuis; * The entrance of Oudemanhuispoort.

Theatres

* Compagnietheater, Kloveniersburgwal 50; * Literair theater Perdu, Kloveniersburgwal 86; * Doelenzaal, Kloveniersburgwal 87-89.

References

External links

* {{coord, 52.3703, 4.8981, type:landmark_region:NL, display=title Canals in Amsterdam Holocaust locations in the Netherlands