Vlooienburg or Vloonburg was a filled-in island in the Amstel river on the site of the Stopera in Amsterdam. In the seventeenth century, a lively migrant neighborhood emerged here with timber traders, Jewish merchants from the Mediterrean, kosher shopkeepers, and craftsmen, etc. The island formed the core area of Amsterdam's Jewish Quarter until the destruction in the twentieth century. [1]
Not much is known about the early history of Vlooienburg, surrounded by three canals and the Amstel river. The island was expanded considerably to the south and was filled with rubble, shards, and unusable ship parts. [3] The first sale of a house in the area dates back to June 1603. This means that the issuance of empty lots must have taken place in Winter 1602. In a short time, four blocks of houses with a total of two hundred residential buildings arose here. [4] In 1605 timber traders arrived. [5] The name Vlooienburg first appeared in 1609. The Brownists settled there as well. For the Jewish population the change came in 1614 through a diktat from the States of Holland. [6] The library Ets Haim was founded in 1616. From 1618 onwards, three small synagogues and schools were established in private houses, and after a merger, the Talmud Torah at Houtgracht served until 1675. [7]
Judah Leon Templo lived on Vlooienburg, Menasseh Ben Israel, Baruch Spinoza and family lived at Houtgracht opposite the island. [8] [9] Rembrandt settled for a while in a former sugar refinery but moved in 1639 to Jodenbreestraat. [10] After a year of plague Daniel Stalpaert became the architect of orphanage along the waterfront; the timber traders disappeared. After the first wave of Sephardim immigration, many Ashkenazi from Central and Eastern Europe settled there.
For many years it was the location of a covered ballgame or tennis court, and a fish-market at the waterfront. Around 1840 Coster Diamonds was established on the island. In 1874 and 1882, the Houtgracht and Leprozengracht were filled in, meaning that Vlooienburg was no longer an island. The Waterlooplein was designed in the resulting space. The Blauwbrug dates from 1884.
After the Shoah, there was hardly anyone left to return to the homes. Vlooienburg and the adjacent islands of Uilenburg and Rapenburg are synonymous with poor houses, large families, poor hygiene and dilapidation. The badly dilapidated houses of Vlooienburg were demolished and nothing remained of the Jewish quarter. In 1982, construction of the Stopera began, the combined city hall and Opera building that stood on the site of the demolished blocks and was finished in 1986. [11]
Amsterdam is the capital and most populated city of the Netherlands. 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 a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Adriaen Courtsen Block was a Dutch private trader, privateer, and ship's captain who is best known for exploring the coastal and river valley areas between present-day New Jersey and Massachusetts during four voyages from 1611 to 1614, following the 1609 expedition by Henry Hudson. He is noted for possibly having named Block Island, Rhode Island, and establishing early trade with the Native Americans, and for the 1614 map of his last voyage on which many features of the mid-Atlantic region appear for the first time, and on which the term New Netherland is first applied to the region. He is credited with being the first European to enter Long Island Sound and the Connecticut River, and to determine that Manhattan and Long Island are islands.
Amsterdam has a long and eventful history. The origins of the city lie in the 12th century, when fishermen living along the banks of the River Amstel built a bridge across the waterway near the IJ, which at the time was a large saltwater inlet. Wooden locks under the bridge served as a dam protecting the village from the rising IJ waters, which often flooded the early settlement. The mouth of the river Amstel, where the Damrak is now, formed a natural harbor, which became important for trading-exchange from the larger koggeships into the smaller ships that sailed the merchandise deeper into the hinterland.
The Stopera is a building complex in Amsterdam, Netherlands, housing both the city hall of Amsterdam and the Dutch National Opera and Ballet, the principal opera house in Amsterdam that is home of Dutch National Opera, Dutch National Ballet and Holland Symfonia. The building was designed by Wilhelm Holzbauer and Cees Dam.
The Blauwbrug is a historic bridge in Amsterdam, Netherlands over the river Amstel. It connects the Rembrandtplein area with the Waterlooplein area, and lies south to the Stopera.
Waterlooplein is a square in the centre of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The square near the Amstel river is named after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Prominent buildings on the square are the Stopera city hall and opera building and the Mozes en Aäronkerk church.
The Jodenbreestraat is a street in the centre of Amsterdam, which connects the Sint Antoniesluis sluice gates to the Mr. Visserplein traffic circle. North of the sluice gates, the street continues on to Nieuwmarkt square as the Sint Antoniesbreestraat. The Mozes en Aäronkerk church stands at the southern end of the street. Directly behind the Jodenbreestraat is Waterlooplein square with its daily flea market.
The Herengracht is the second of four Amsterdam canals belonging to the canal belt and lies between the Singel and the Keizersgracht. The Gouden Bocht in particular is known for its large and beautiful canal houses.
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.
The Jodenbuurt 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. It is best known as the birthplace of Baruch Spinoza, the home of Rembrandt, and the Jewish ghetto of Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.
Lastage is a neighborhood in the Centrum borough of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located between the Geldersekade and Oudeschans canals, just east of old medieval city. Today, the neighbourhood is also known as Nieuwmarktbuurt due to the fact that the Nieuwmarkt is comprised in the area; it is protected as a heritage site.
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.
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 40 metres (130 ft). This construction method resulted in the demolition of parts of the Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood and was met with protests.
Waterlooplein 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 40 metres (130 ft), with the first one being lowered in 1972. There were "open tube" days in 1975 showcasing the station, which was the first time the public got access to the underground tunnels of the metro system.
The Moses and Aaron Church, in the Waterlooplein neighborhood of Amsterdam, is officially the Roman Catholic Church of St. Anthony of Padua. Originally a clandestine church, it was operated by Franciscan priests at a house on Jodenbreestraat ["Jewish Broad Street"], where the wall tablets of Moses and Aaron hung on the wall. In 1970, the present church was designated as a Cultural Heritage Monument of the Netherlands.
The Maupoleum (1971–1994) was a building on Amsterdam's Jodenbreestraat. Built in 1971, it acquired a reputation for being unattractive before being demolished in 1994.
The Leprozengracht was a canal in Amsterdam that defined one side of the Vlooienburg island. Leprozengracht and the connected Houtgracht canal were filled in 1882 to form the Waterlooplein.
The Houtgracht was a canal in Amsterdam that defined one side of Vlooienburg island. Houtgracht and the connected Leprozengracht canal were filled in 1882 to form the Waterlooplein.