The Markengracht was a canal 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 The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. For many years it was at the heart of the slums of the poor Jewish neighborhood. It was filled in 1968 as part of a complete rehabilitation of the area combined with construction of the

IJtunnel The IJtunnel, opened on 30 October 1968, is an automobile tunnel under the IJ that connects the centre of Amsterdam with Amsterdam-Noord. The tunnel is part of a route across Amsterdam that connects the Ringweg North with the Ringweg South ne ...

, opened on 30 October 1968. It is now the site of a complex of new residential buildings.

Location

The Markengracht was in the center of the poor part of the Jewish quarter. It ran between the

Rapenburgwal The Rapenburgwal () is a secondary canal in Amsterdam in the east of the Amsterdam-Centrum district, in the Lastage neighborhood. Location The canal forms the northeast border of the island of Uilenburg. It is connected to Oudeschans and Uil ...

and

Houtkopersburgwal The Houtkopersburgwal is a short secondary canal in Amsterdam. It is located in the east of the Amsterdam-Centrum district in the Lastage neighborhood. Location The Houtkopersburgwal connects the Oudeschans to the Uilenburgergracht around the is ...

canals, which both used to extend southeast to the Markengracht. The Vinkenbuurt was on the southeast side of the canal, between the canal and Rapenburgerstraat. Valkenburgerstraat and the buildings of Marken were on the northwest side.

History

The Marken or Valkenburg island was created in the IJ around 1593. Due to a surveying error it was much narrower than the adjoining Uilenburg island, and had just one main street running through it, Valkenburgerstraat. Maps from the 16th to 18th century show ship ramps along the Markengracht, the eastern boundary of the island, but the shipyards later relocated because the canal was too narrow. The journalist and writer Meijer Sluyser (1901–73) who grew up beside the canal described it as "the murderer" because it was so filthy. He wrote, "Carrots of human feces float in the canal. Rats the size of cats that win prizes at exhibition frolic in broad daylight in the yards." Rapenburgerstraat had houses, factories such as the Verduin ladies' hat factory, and institutions such as a girl's orphanage backing onto the canal. The Markengracht School was a public primary education school, located at Markengracht 3 from 1874 to 1933. The synagogue of the chewre Tif'eres Jisroeil was housed on the lower floor of Markengracht 5 from 1835 until 1928, when many of its members moved to the Transvaal neighborhood. Efforts by the city to clean up the slums were started in 1926. After

World War II 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 opposin ...

(1939–45) the municipality decided to completely renovate the old Jewish quarter. Residents were moved and the buildings demolished. The canal was filled in 1968. The whole area between Valkenburgerstraat and Rapenburgerstraat was cleared for construction of the

, leaving a wide empty space between the two streets. In the 1980s the council heard from local residents who wanted the land to be used for residences and small businesses, and after many delays a complex of new buildings was opened in 1999. The three new buildings, each with a central courtyard with water and plants, are separated by two semi-public plazas. File:Gerrit de Broen - Amsterdam (1737) Markengracht.jpg , Detail of 1737 map, looking south. In the center a square of canals with

Uilenburgergracht The Uilenburgergracht is a secondary canal in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It is located east of the Amsterdam-Centrum district, in the Lastage neighborhood. The Uilenburgergracht defines the southeastern border of Uilenburg Island. It is conn ...

running across it. Clockwise from left, Markengracht (SE),

(SW), Monkelbaansburgwal (

Oudeschans Oudeschans () is a small village with a population of around 100 in the municipality of Westerwolde in the province of Groningen in the Netherlands. The 16th-century fortification is now a state protected village area with several national heri ...

) (NW),

(NE). File:W.A. van Deventer, Afb KOG-AA-2-16-299.jpg , Markengracht seen to the south. W.A. van Deventer, 1853 File:Een overzicht van de nieuwe marktlokatie aan de Rapenburgerstraat, Bestanddeelnr 929-1202.jpg , Rapenburgerstraat (1977), temporary home of the Waterloopleinmarkt from 1977 to 1988.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Markengracht Streets in Amsterdam Former canals in Amsterdam