The Muntplein (

Mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaAE ...

Square) is a square in the centre of

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 ...

. The square is in fact a bridge — the widest bridge in Amsterdam — that crosses the Singel canal at the point where it flows into the

Amstel The Amstel () is a river in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. It flows from the Aarkanaal and Drecht in Nieuwveen northwards, passing Uithoorn, Amstelveen, and Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, to the IJ in Amsterdam. Annually, the ri ...

river. All bridges in Amsterdam are numbered, and the Muntplein carries the number 1. Muntplein is named after the Munttoren (or simply Munt) tower that stands on this square. This tower was once part of one of the three main medieval city gates. In the 17th century, it temporarily served as a

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaAE ...

, hence the name. The guard house building attached to the tower is not the original medieval structure but a late 19th-century fantasy. An underpass was added to the building during a 1938–1939 renovation. The name "Muntplein" dates from 1917. The square was originally known as Schapenplein ("sheep square") and, from 1877 to 1917, as Sophiaplein (after Queen Sophia, first wife of William III). The square is a bustling intersection of six streets. It forms the southern end of the Kalverstraat shopping street and the major street Rokin. The eastern end of the floating flower market ( Bloemenmarkt) along the Singel canal is directly south of the square. Six

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

lines (4, 9, 14, 16, 24 and 25) stop at Muntplein, but only when travelling south. The building on Muntplein at the intersection of the Kalverstraat and Rokin is an early design by prominent Dutch architect

Hendrik Petrus Berlage Hendrik Petrus Berlage (21 February 1856 – 12 August 1934) was a Dutch architect. He is considered one of the fathers of the architecture of the Amsterdam School. Life and work Hendrik Petrus Berlage, son of Nicolaas Willem Berlage and An ...

Photo gallery

Image:Muntplein (Amsterdam).JPG, The Muntplein seen from the Kalverstraat shopping street File:Munttoren Amsterdam.jpg, The Muntplein with Munttoren as seen from the river

. Image:Hildo Krop Vrouwe Fortuna.jpg, Statue of Lady Fortune on the Rokin near Muntplein Image:De Nederlanden van 1845 Berlage Muntplein.jpg, Building designed by

on Muntplein File:Muntplein tracks, Amsterdam.jpg, Wide view of tram tracks on Muntplein

References

* This article is based on the Dutch Wikipedia article about Muntplein.

External links

* {{Parks and squares in Amsterdam Bridges in Amsterdam Squares in Amsterdam Odonyms referring to a building