The Snoekjesgracht (Pike Canal) is a small 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 ...

, in the

Lastage Lastage is a neighborhood in the Amsterdam-Centrum, Centrum borough of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located between the Geldersekade and Oudeschans, Amsterdam, Oudeschans canals, just east of old Middle Ages, medieval city. Today, the neighbourhoo ...

neighborhood.

Location

The canal runs behind

Sint Antoniesbreestraat The Sint Antoniesbreestraat ("St. Anthony's Broad Street") is a street in the centre of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The street runs south from Nieuwmarkt square to the Sint Antoniesluis sluice gates, where it continues as the Jodenbreestraat. ...

from the Sint Antoniesluis (at the southern end of the

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 ...

) in a more or less northerly direction to a bend, where the canal turns to the east and becomes the

Kromboomssloot The Kromboomssloot, or Krom Boomssloot, is a canal in the Lastage (Nieuwmarktbuurt) neighborhood in the center of Amsterdam. It provides a transverse navigation from the Rechtboomssloot and was previously called Dwarsboomssloot. As the names ind ...

. At this bend there is a square with benches and a pillar-shaped artwork by Wim Tap from 1989. The Snoekjessteeg, as an extension of the through route in an easterly direction from

Dam Square Dam Square or the Dam () is a town square in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. Its notable buildings and frequent events make it one of the best-known and most important locations in the city and the country. Location and description ...

, runs from Sint Antoniesbreestraat (where there is an exit from

Nieuwmarkt metro station Nieuwmarkt is an underground metro station in the city centre of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Served by metro lines 51, 53 and 54 of the Amsterdam Metro, the station was constructed by sinking caissons with a length of . This construction method resul ...

) to Snoekjesgracht. The Snoekjesbrug (bridge no. 289) crosses the Snoekjesgracht at the Snoekjessteeg.

History

The Snoekjesgracht, originally called Snoeksgracht, was named after a 16th-century resident, Jan Pieters Snoeck, who had a house built on this canal in 1595 and depicted a pike (fish) on the facade. The Snoekjesgracht is located in the old

Jodenbuurt The Jodenbuurt (Dutch: ''Jewish neighbourhood'') is a neighbourhood of Amsterdam, Netherlands. For centuries before World War II, it was the center of the Dutch Jews of Amsterdam — hence, its name (literally '' Jewish quarter''). It is best know ...

(Jewish quarter) of Amsterdam. During the German occupation in

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 ...

many Jewish residents were deported to

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...

where they died. After the war, many of the buildings on the east side were demolished and replaced by new buildings in the 1980s . In the past the Snoekjesgracht extended further north, between Sint Antoniesbreestraat and Dijkstraat, but in 1867 this part (called the Rotterdammersloot) was filled in. In 2003, the

Rotterdam Centrum Rotterdam Centrum () is a borough of Rotterdam. It was established on March 3, 2010. The center has 33,983 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017). Rotterdam Centrum is bounded by the emplacement of the Rotterdam Centraal railway station and the Gouds ...

district investigated whether the filled-in Rotterdammersloot was suitable for being dug out again, but abandoned this because of the existing buildings and lack of space.Snoekjesgracht op het Joods Monument
/ref> File:Stadsarchief Amsterdam, Afb ANWD00607000039.jpg , Snoekjesgracht looking north to the Snoekjesbrug (Bridge 289) (1930) File:Amsterdam P1080060.JPG , Snoekjesgracht looking to the north, with buildings from the 1980s and the pillar-shaped artwork by Wim Tap. File:Snoekjesgracht pic1.JPG , Snoekjesgracht 2016

Notes

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snoekjesgracht Canals in Amsterdam

Location

History

See also

Notes

Sources