Omval | |
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Coordinates: 52°20′02″N4°54′44″E / 52.33389°N 4.91222°E | |
Country | Netherlands |
Province | North Holland |
Municipality | Amsterdam |
Borough | Oost |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
Omval is a neighbourhood situated on a peninsula on the eastern shore of the Amstel river in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is situated south of the Weesperzijde neighbourhood and next to the Amsterdam Amstel railway station in the borough of Amsterdam-Oost. In the 1990s, it became the site of a major business district featuring the Rembrandt Tower, the tallest skyscraper in Amsterdam.
The Omval area became a peninsula in a meander of the Amstel river when the Watergraafsmeer, a polder in the east of the city, was drained and reclaimed in 1629. Originally, the Omval was part of the Ouder-Amstel municipality, but in 1921 the peninsula was added to the city of Amsterdam. The name Omval refers to the sharp turn in the river Amstel. In order to safely pass this turn, sailboats transporting goods on the river in the 17th century had to tack their sails (overstag gaan or omvallen in Dutch) to change direction. [1]
An etching by Rembrandt, who was known to be working in the area, depicts the Omval area in the mid-1600s. The print shows a man standing on the Amstel embankment and two lovers sitting underneath an old willow tree, as well as a windmill used to pump water from the polder. [2] In Rembrandt's time, the Omval was a popular countryside recreation area. [3]
In the 20th century, the Omval became a mixed commercial and light industry area which was then on the edge of the city. In the 1990s, this area was redeveloped into a major business district, which was now firmly within the metropolitan area due to the city's expansion in southeastern direction and well-connected via train and metro because of the nearby Amsterdam Amstel railway station. Along the river bank, a number of luxury apartment buildings were constructed.
Until 1964, the Omval was home to the former Blooker factory, well known in the Netherlands for producing cocoa solids. The factory's guardhouse (1886) was reconstructed in 2003 and currently houses a bar and restaurant. Other former businesses at the Omval include the Puralimento fruit preserves factory, Efa Produka vacuum cleaners, Erdal shoes polishes, the Netherlands Ministry of Defence, a postal and telecommunications school, Bertels oil refinery and Maschmeijer Aromatics. [4]
In 1987, the Amsterdam municipal council approved plans to build three skyscrapers in the Omval district, to be named after Dutch painters. [5] The first building to be completed was the Rembrandt Tower (1995), modelled after the Empire State Building in New York City, which became the tallest building in the city. With its 135 meters, it has become a notable landmark in the city's skyline. In 2001, the Mondriaan Tower and Breitner Tower were completed. The Breitner Tower became the headquarters of Philips Electronics and is therefore also known as the Philips Tower. The Mondriaan currently houses the headquarters of Delta Lloyd Insurance Group and Rabobank Amsterdam.
Next to the Rembrandt Tower, on the site of the headquarters of the former Postbank, is the Leeuwenburg building of the Hogeschool van Amsterdam (HvA), the city's university of applied sciences. Covering a total of 65,000 square meters, Leeuwenburg is one of the largest campuses of HvA. [6]
Amsterdam is the capital and most populated city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 921,402 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the urban area and 2,480,394 in the metropolitan area. Located in the Dutch province of North Holland, Amsterdam is colloquially referred to as the "Venice of the North", for its large number of canals, now designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Amstelveen is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands, with a population of 92,353 as of 2022. It is a suburban part of the Amsterdam metropolitan area.
George Hendrik Breitner was a Dutch painter and photographer. An important figure in Amsterdam Impressionism, he is noted especially for his paintings of street scenes and harbours in a realistic style. He painted en plein air, and became interested in photography as a means of documenting street life and atmospheric effects – rainy weather in particular – as reference materials for his paintings.
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, to which the river gives its name. Annually, the river is the location of the Liberation Day concert, Head of the River Amstel rowing match, and the Amsterdam Gay Pride boat parade.
The Singel is one of the canals of Amsterdam. The Singel encircled Amsterdam in the Middle Ages, serving as a moat around the city until 1585, when Amsterdam expanded beyond the Singel. The canal runs from the IJ bay, near the Central Station, to the Muntplein square, where it meets the Amstel river. It is now the inner-most canal in Amsterdam's semicircular ring of canals.
Rembrandtplein is a major square in central Amsterdam, Netherlands, named after Rembrandt van Rijn who owned a house nearby from 1639 to 1656.
The Zwanenburgwal is a canal and street in the center of Amsterdam. During the Dutch Golden Age the canal was home to painter Rembrandt van Rijn, as well as philosopher Spinoza lived here. In 2006 it was voted one of the most beautiful streets in Amsterdam by readers of Het Parool, a local daily newspaper.
Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, has more than 100 kilometers (62 mi) 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".
Amsterdam Amstel is a railway station in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The station opened in 1939. It is located to the southeast of Amsterdam Centraal in the borough of Amsterdam-Oost, near the Amstel river. Amsterdam Amstel is used daily by 50,000 train and metro passengers. Rail services at the station are provided by NS, the principal railway operator in the Netherlands. Metro, tram and city bus services are provided by municipal operator GVB. Regional buses are operated by Transdev and Keolis.
Rembrandt Tower is an office skyscraper in Amsterdam. It has a height of 135 metres, 36 floors and it has a spire which extends its height to 150 metres. It was constructed from 1991 to 1994. The building's foundation required piles 56 metres long and two metres in diameter.
Amsteldorp is a neighborhood of Amsterdam, Netherlands. The neighborhood dates from the 1920s but many houses were built in 1947–48 and in the 1950s. The Amstel Station is located within this area, which was built in 1939, and the tallest building in the neighbourhood is Rembrandt Tower, with a height of 150 metres.
De Pijp is a neighbourhood of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located directly south of Amsterdam's city centre and it is part of the borough Amsterdam-Zuid, in a part of the city known as the Old South. It is served by De Pijp metro station. Most streets in De Pijp are named after Dutch painters, like Jan Steen, Frans Hals, Ruysdael and Vincent van Gogh. Diamantbuurt, Nieuwe Pijp and Oude Pijp are the three districts composing the area.
Rivierenbuurt is a neighbourhood of Amsterdam, Netherlands. The neighbourhood is situated in the eastern part of the borough of Amsterdam-Zuid, bordered by the river Amstel to the east, the Boerenwetering canal in the west, the Amstelkanaal in the north and the A10 motorway in the south. In 2013, the Rivierenbuurt had approximately 28,400 residents.
The Mondriaan Tower is a skyscraper in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It is the second tallest building in the city. The tower is located at the omval, an island in the Amstel river. The Mondriaantoren is 125 meters high and has 32 floors. It was opened in 2001, the tower is named for the old Dutch painter Piet Mondriaan. The head office of Delta lloyd is based in the tower. It has a floor space of 32,000 m2.
The Kloveniersdoelen was a complex of buildings in Amsterdam which served as headquarters and shooting range for the local schutterij. The companies of kloveniers were armed with an early type of musket known as an arquebus, known in Dutch as a bus, haakbus or klover, hence the name kloveniers.