Coolsingel is a

street A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of di ...

in central

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...

. It is located in the Cool district. The street leads from the Hofplein to the Churchillplein. Plans were announced in 2016 to reduce traffic congestion on the street. The redevelopment is expected to cost 47 million euros and to be finished by 2020. In 2021 the renovation was finished giving cyclists and pedestrians more space. Car traffic was reduced from 4 lanes (2 in each direction) to 2 lanes (1 in each direction).

History

The name Coolsingel comes from the Cool craftsmanship (an area with a feudal form of government dating back to the Middle Ages, with a 'gentleman' as central person). The Cool craftsmanship can be traced back to around 1280. In 1596, the city bought the Cool, Blommersdijk and Beukelsdijk craftsmanship from Squire Jacob van Almonde. By Royal Decree of 20 September 1809, the craftsmanship Beukelsdijk, Oost- en West-Blommersdijk, called Cool, was elevated to an independent municipality. In 1811 Cool was annexed by Rotterdam. In addition to the craftsmanship, there was also the Cool

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plains ...

. This lay between the Rotterdamse and Delfshavense

Schie Schie () the name for four waterways in the area of Overschie, South Holland, the Netherlands. There are the Delftse Schie, the Delfshavense Schie, the Rotterdamse Schie and the Schiedamse Schie. The existence of these four streams is the result ...

; this was abolished in 1925. Part of the territory of Cool had already been added to the city in 1358 after the permit of Duke

Albert I, Duke of Bavaria Albert I, Duke of Lower Bavaria (german: Albrecht; 25 July 1336 – 13 December 1404), was a feudal ruler of the counties of Holland, Hainaut, and Zeeland in the Low Countries. Additionally, he held a portion of the Bavarian province of Straub ...

to dig canals around the city and to enlarge the city area with Rodezand in the Cool craftsmanship. From then on, the Coolvest separated city and craftsmanship and formed the western border of the old city triangle, later extended to the south with the Schiedamse Vest. From 1879 until WW II (when it was destroyed), the first

mall Mall commonly refers to a: * Shopping mall * Strip mall * Pedestrian street * Esplanade Mall or MALL may also refer to: Places Shopping complexes * The Mall (Sofia) (Tsarigradsko Mall), Sofia, Bulgaria * The Mall, Patna, Patna, Bihar, India ...

The Passage Passage, The Passage or Le Passage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Passage'' (2008 film), a documentary about Arctic explorers * ''Passage'' (2009 film), a short movie about three sisters * ''The Passage'' (1979 film), starring ...

in The Netherlands ended on the Coolvest. In 1480 there is already a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface f ...

on the craftsmanship side opposite the fortification behind Bulgersteyn; the southern part was given the name Schiedamsesingel, the northern Coolsingel, after the major urban expansion around 1500. The Coolvest was completely filled in in connection with the construction of a wide road in the years 1913-1922 and was then given the name Coolsingel. A few years later, the Schiedamse Vest followed until the Witte de Withstraat, and finally the southernmost part of the vest was filled with debris from the

German bombing of Rotterdam Rotterdam was subjected to heavy aerial bombardment by the ''Luftwaffe'' during the German invasion of the Netherlands in World War II. The objective was to support the German troops fighting in the city, break Dutch resistance and force the ...

of 1940.

Places of interest

Beurs-World Trade Center Beurs-World Trade Center is located on the Coolsingel and Beursplein in the centre of Rotterdam. It is a major business centre in Rotterdam with approximately 200 offices. The building is 93 meters high. The center is a member of the internati ...

*City Hall *McDonald's kiosk - voted the ugliest building in the city, the restaurant was given a complete refurbishment in 2015 and received international attention *Old main post office * Beurstraverse, popularly called 'Koopgoot' (sales gutter)

References

External links

engelfriet.net
Streets in Rotterdam {{SouthHolland-geo-stub