The Grimburgwal is a small canal and street in the center of Amsterdam.
Amsterdam is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with a population of 866,737 within the city proper, 1,380,872 in the urban area, and 2,410,960 in the metropolitan area. Amsterdam is in the province of North Holland. Amsterdam is colloquially referred to as the "Venice of the North" due to its large number of canals which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is now also popular due to it being one of the हम couple's honeymoon destination.
The canal was the southern border of the city until 1425 and is now the southern border of De Wallen, the red light district. The Nes street and the Oudezijds Voorburgwal and Oudezijds Achterburgwal canals end at the Grimburgwal. The Grimburgwal, continuing east from the Langebrugsteeg, runs from the Nes, past the Oudezijds Voorburgwal to the Oudezijds Achterburgwal. From here, pedestrians can walk to the Kloveniersburgwal via the Oudemanhuispoort .
De Wallen or De Walletjes is the largest and best known red-light district in Amsterdam. It consists of a network of alleys containing approximately three hundred one-room cabins rented by prostitutes who offer their sexual services from behind a window or glass door, typically illuminated with red lights and blacklight. Window prostitution is the most visible and typical kind of red-light district sex work in Amsterdam.
Nes is a narrow, old, street in central Amsterdam, Netherlands. It runs parallel to and to the east of Rokin, between Dam Square to the north and Grimburgwal to the south.
The Oudezijds Voorburgwal, often abbreviated to OZ Voorburgwal, is a street and canal in De Wallen in the center of Amsterdam. The OZ Voorburgwal runs from the Grimburgwal in the south to the Zeedijk in the north, where it changes into the Oudezijds Kolk, which drains into the IJ.
A large part of the University of Amsterdam is located in the Binnengasthuis and Oudemanhuispoort complex on the Grimburgwal. There are also a number of cafés, restaurants, galleries and shops on the canal.
The University of Amsterdam is a public university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being the VU University Amsterdam (VU). Established in 1632 by municipal authorities and later renamed for the city of Amsterdam, the University of Amsterdam is the third-oldest university in the Netherlands. It is one of the largest research universities in Europe with 31,186 students, 4,794 staff, 1,340 PhD students and an annual budget of €600 million. It is the largest university in the Netherlands by enrollment. The main campus is located in central Amsterdam, with a few faculties located in adjacent boroughs. The university is organised into seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Science, Law, Medicine, and Dentistry.
History
The Huis aan de Drie Grachten (House on the Three Canals) seen from the corner of Grimburgwal and Oudezijds Voorburgwal
The Grimburgwal was originally a tributary of the Amstel, the Grim (meaning "muddy ditch"). In the 14th century it was dug into a moat with an earthen wall ("burgwal") to protect the medieval city. The neighborhood around the canal was called Grimmenes. Amsterdam was further expanded around 1424 and the part between Grimburgwal and Amstel was included in the city. The Grimnessesluis was constructed in 1546, as an extension of the Nes, to close off the Grimburgwal from the Amstel. This lock, sketched by Rembrandt, remained until it was demolished in 1868. Seven years earlier a bridge was built over the Grimburgwal, now part of the Oude Turfmarkt, near the statue of Wilhelmina. The Nes still runs between buildings to the water, reminiscent of the former lock.
The Amstel is a river in the Netherlands which flows from Nieuwveen to Amsterdam, where it meets the IJ bay. The city of Amsterdam took its name from the river.
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was a Dutch draughtsman, painter, and printmaker. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of art and the most important in Dutch art history. Unlike most Dutch masters of the 17th century, Rembrandt's works depict a wide range of style and subject matter, from portraits and self-portraits to landscapes, genre scenes, allegorical and historical scenes, and biblical and mythological themes as well as animal studies. His contributions to art came in a period of great wealth and cultural achievement that historians call the Dutch Golden Age, when Dutch art, although in many ways antithetical to the Baroque style that dominated Europe, was extremely prolific and innovative and gave rise to important new genres. Like many artists of the Dutch Golden Age, such as Jan Vermeer of Delft, Rembrandt was also an avid art collector and dealer.
Wilhelmina was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw the First and the Second world wars, the Dutch economic crisis of 1933, and the decline of the Netherlands as a major colonial power.
Notable buildings
Before the Alteratie (Alteration) of 1578 there were a number of monasteries on or around the Grimburgwal. The Old and New Nunneries were on the current Binnengasthuis site. The Sint Claraconvent was located between the Nes and the Oudezijds Voorburgwal, but did not reach the Grimburgwal, probably because this was originally the city wall. The Gebed zonder End (Prayer Without End) alley, which opens onto the Grimburgwal, is a remnant of this monastery.
The Alteratie is the name given to the change of power in Amsterdam on May 26, 1578, when the Catholic city government was deposed in favor of a Protestant one. The coup should be seen in the context of the greater Dutch Revolt that was breaking out in this time. Trade interests played an important role, because Amsterdam was becoming isolated as surrounding cities and towns joined the revolt, and other cities were threatening to take over its trade. No one was injured or killed during the coup. On May 29, a new city council was formed, consisting of 30 Calvinists and 10 Catholics. Already after a few months, plans were presented to expand the city and the harbor on the eastern side (Lastage), and to construct new defensive fortifications.
On the south side of the Grimburgwal, now the Binnengasthuis site, there was first a "schafferij" (city carpenter's garden), then the De Sleutel brewery (a name preserved in the Sleutelbrug, the stone arch bridge on the Oudezijds Voorburgwal / Grimburgwal corner), and from 1647 the Oudezijds Heerenlogement. This chic inn for distinguished guests was later renamed Lokaal voor Publieke Verkoopingen (Public Salesroom) and used as an auction hall. The building was demolished in 1874 to make way for new buildings on the Binnengasthuis. The entrance gate to this inn has been moved and is now at Keizersgracht 367.
A striking building on the Grimburgwal, which has continued to exist, is the Huis aan de Drie Grachten (House on the Three Canals). This building from 1610 owes its name to the fact that it is surrounded on three sides by canals: the Grimburgwal on the south side, the Oudezijds Voorburgwal on the west side and the Oudezijds Achterburgwal on the east side. It is a double house with a stepped gable on each canal .
The Huis aan de Drie Grachten or Huis op de Drie Grachten is a 17th-century canal house in Amsterdam, at the southeastern end of the Wallen district. The name is a reference to the fact that the building faces three different Amsterdam canals. The south facade faces Grimburgwal, the west facade faces Oudezijds Voorburgwal and the east facade faces Oudezijds Achterburgwal. The address is Oudezijds Voorburgwal 249.
The Oudezijds Achterburgwal, often abbreviated to OZ Achterburgwal, is a street and canal in De Wallen, the red light district in the center of Amsterdam.
During World War II the August Aimé Balkema bookstore in the House on the Three Canals was a clandestine publisher of illegal literature. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Grimburgwal was primarily known as a place where drug addicts offered stolen bicycles for sale. Today, the area is mainly populated by students, tourists, and the public.
The Grimburgwal seen from the Grimnessesluis
Rembrandt van Rijn. View of the Grimnessesluis in Amsterdam. Pen and brown ink, brown wash.
The Grimnessesluis, seen towards the Rokin. Photo: Amsterdam City Archives; around 1860.
The Rokin is a canal and major street in the centre of Amsterdam. The street runs from Muntplein square to Dam square. The Rokin canal used to run from Muntplein square to Dam Square, but in 1936, the part between Spui square and Dam Square was filled in. Canal boats are now moored on the remaining part of the water, from the Amstel to Grimburgwal.
Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, has more than one hundred kilometers of grachten (canals), about 90 islands and 1,500 bridges. The three main canals, dug in the 17th century during the Dutch Golden Age, form concentric belts around the city, known as the Grachtengordel. Alongside the main canals are 1550 monumental buildings. The 17th-century canal ring area, including the Prinsengracht, Keizersgracht, Herengracht and Jordaan, were listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010, contributing to Amsterdam's fame as the "Venice of the North".
The Oudekerksplein is a square in the centre of Amsterdam. It is named after the 14th-century church Oude Kerk which dominates the square. The Oudekerksplein is wedged between the Warmoesstraat street and Oudezijds Voorburgwal canal. From the square, the Oudekerksbrug bridge crosses the Oudezijds Voorburgwal canal and continues eastwards, through the Oudekennissteeg and Molensteeg alleys, towards the Oudezijds Achterburgwal and Zeedijk.
The Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal is a street in the centre of Amsterdam. The street runs more or less north-south, and the Raadhuisstraat runs west.
The walls of Amsterdam were built in the Middle Ages to protect the city against attack. The Medieval walls were replaced with a series of bastions in the 17th century. In the 19th century, the walls were torn down and replaced with the Defence Line of Amsterdam, a fortification line which encircled Amsterdam at a distance from the city.
Kloveniersburgwal is an Amsterdam canal flowing south from Nieuwmarkt to the Amstel River on the edge of the medieval city, lying east of the dam in the centre of Amsterdam.
The Bethaniënklooster is a former 15th-century monastery in the Wallen area of Amsterdam. It is one of the few remains of the once-expansive area of monasteries that dominated the oudezijde of town in the Middle Ages. The monastery was devoted to Mary of Bethany and, at its largest extent, encompassed the entire area between Bloedstraat and Oude Hoogstraat streets to the north and south and Oudezijds Achterburgwal and Kloveniersburgwal canals to the west and east.
The Agnietenkapel is a 15th-century Gothic chapel in Amsterdam. It is the birthplace of the University of Amsterdam and still in use for doctoral dissertations and other university ceremonies, as well as academic events such as lectures and symposiums. The building has held rijksmonument status since 1970.
The Oudezijds Kolk is a short and narrow canal/lock in Amsterdam between the Oudezijds Voorburgwal and the Oosterdok.
The Rechtboomssloot, or Recht Boomssloot, is a canal in the Lastage (Nieuwmarktbuurt) neighborhood in the center of Amsterdam.
Martelaarsgracht is a street and former canal in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
The Nieuwezijds Achterburgwal is a former street and canal in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. From around 1380 to 1450 it was part of the town's defenses. The canal was filled in in 1866, and is now Spuistraat.
The Spuistraat in downtown Amsterdam connects the Hekelveld to the Spui. It runs roughly north to south, parallel to the Singel and the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal. At the Royal Palace of Amsterdam, the Spuistraat crosses the Raadhuisstraat and Paleisstraat. Originally the Spuistraat was a canal, the Nieuwezijds Achterburgwal. The canal was filled in in 1867, and the street renamed then.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
