the amsterdam treasure room...1 2 showcase 2: praying and fighting in the middle ages...
TRANSCRIPT
The Amsterdam Treasure Room The city’s history in twenty-four striking stories and photographs
The Amsterdam Treasure Room The city’s history in twelve striking stories
PrefaceAmsterdam’s history is a treasure trove of stories and wonderful documents, and the Amsterdam City Archives is its guardian. Watching over more than 45 kilometers of shelves with old books and papers, photographs, maps, prints and drawings, and housed in the monumental De Bazel building, the archive welcomes everyone to delve into the city’s rich history. Wander through the Treasure Room, dating from 1926. Find out about Rembrandt or Johan Cruyff and their times. Marvel at the medieval charter cabinet. And follow the change from a small city in a medieval world to a world city in our times.
Bert de VriesDirector
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Showcases Level -1Temporary exhibition
Showcases Level -2The city’s history in twelve striking stories
Entrance Treasure Room Level -2
Entrance temporary exhibition Level -1
Entrance movie theater
Toilets
Elevator (between 0, -1 and -2 level)
Archival storage
Statue of Mercury
Medieval charter cabinet
Temporary exhibitions
Former Storage Vaults
Archival drawers Orphan Chamber
Archival storage
Former Boiler room
The origins of Amsterdam
Praying and fighting in the Middle Ages
The turbulent sixteenth century
An immigrant city in the Dutch Golden Age
Amsterdam and slavery
Foundlings in a waning city
Amsterdam Zoo ‘Natura Artis Magistra’
1883 World Fair
The Second World War
Provo’s, hippies and squatters
I Amsterdam
Moving outside
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1 The origins of Amsterdam 2 Praying and fighting in the
Middle Ages 3 The turbulent sixteenth
century 4 An immigrant city in the Dutch
Golden Age 5 Amsterdam and slavery
6 Foundlings in a waning city 7 Amsterdam Zoo ‘Natura Artis
Magistra’ 8 1883 World Fair 9 The Second World War10 Provo’s, hippies and squatters11 I Amsterdam12 Moving outside
Showcases
The city’s history in twelve striking stories
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At the start of the 13th century, a small settlement began to form along the left bank of the Amstel river, at the height of the current Nieuwendijk. This oldest precursor of the current city of Amsterdam was not an agrarian settlement; instead, the community consisted of tradesmen such as a smith and a weaver.After 1250, houses started appearing on the east bank of the river as well. The Dam in the Amstel river was raised between 1264 and 1275. In 1275, a toll privilege was issued by Floris V, Count of Holland, for the people of this community. Floris V was most likely also the one who commissioned the fortification that was built on the Nieuwezijds Kolk in the 1280’s. Amsterdam quickly increased in prominence over time, and was granted its city charter in 1300-1301. At the time, the community already consisted of around 1,000 inhabitants.
Showcase 1: The origins of Amsterdam
1. Reconstruction of Amsterdam around 1290, drawing by Monuments and Archaeology Amsterdam
At the end of the 13th century, both sides of the Amstel river featured a narrow strip of habitation. Houses dating back to these times have been found on the Nieuwendijk and the Warmoesstraat. The current Oude Kerk or ‘Old Church’ is built on a raised piece of land (marked in yellow on the map) that was most likely the site of a chapel back in the 13th century.
2. Houses along the Nieuwendijk and the fortification at Nieuwezijds Kolk in around 1290, drawing by Monuments and Archaeology Amsterdam
The houses in this part of 13th-century Amsterdam were built close together. The strip of houses most likely stretched out towards the south, down to the modern-day Spui. A stone fortification had been built at the mouth of the Boerenwetering into the Amstel river.
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3. The western wall of the fortification on Nieuwezijds Kolk, 1994, photo
A sensational discovery was made in 1994: reinforced walls dating back to the 13th century. This fortification was built in the 1280’s, most likely by order of Floris V, Count of Holland. However, it did not last for long and had already disappeared by 1333.
4. Exterior wall of a house made of willow shoots woven together, found in a dig on the Nieuwendijk, 1979, photo
The oldest houses to ever be built in Amsterdam were small buildings made of wood and woven willow shoots, with clay floors and open fire pits.
5. Toll Privilege granted by Floris V, Count of Holland, 1275, photo
On 27 October 1275, Floris V granted ‘the people living along the dam in the Amstel river’ an exemption from having to pay a toll in the county of Holland. This is the earliest known mention of Amsterdam, as well as being the oldest record in the whole of the Amsterdam City Archives. 6. Wooden shoe, found on the
Nieuwendijk, 1225-1300
7. Leather shoe, found on the Nieuwendijk, 1225-1300
8. Carving fork, found on the Nieuwendijk, 1225-1275
9. Horseshoe, found on the Nieuwendijk, 1225-1275
The Nieuwendijk used to be the site of a smithy that produced a wide range of objects, such as nails, keys and locks, weapons, carving forks and horseshoes.
10. Jug, found on the Nieuwendijk, 1225-1275
11. Jug, found on the Dam, 1225-1275This type of oven-fired, watertight ceramics (so-called proto stoneware) was made in the German Rhineland area.
12. Globular pot, found on the Warmoesstraat, 1250-1300
These round pots were made in Amsterdam and the surrounding area and were used for cooking.
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Leather shoe, found on the Nieuwendijk, 1225-1300 (Showcase 1) Along the former shore of the river Amstel archeologists unearthed the houses and workplaces of the people that first settled on the spot that would become the heart of the city. Excavations yielded a wealth of objects, like this shoe, a silent witness of everyday life in 13th-century Amsterdam.
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Bollock dagger, 1450-1500 (Showcase 2)This type of dagger is named after the form of the hilt. It was found by archeologists in the old river bed of the Amstel during construction works of the Amsterdam North-South metro line.
Toll Privilege granted by Floris V, Count of Holland, 1275 (Showcase 1)In center of the second line one reads the word ‘Amestelledamme’. It is the oldest known mention of Amsterdam. This privilege granted the Amsterdam merchants exemption of toll in the county of Holland, and marks the start of a successful trading port that would become a major world trading center in the Dutch Golden Age. The document was certified by the seal of the Count of Holland. It was written in medieval Latin on parchment, made from a goat’s skin.
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Showcase 2: Praying and fighting in the Middle Ages
Every year on the first Sunday night after March 15th, a silent procession of Catholics winds through the Amsterdam city centre, in remembrance of the Miracle of Amsterdam in 1345, when the consecrated Host appeared from the fire in the hearth unscathed. In the Middle Ages, this Miracle Procession was not just a sign of devotion. The city’s guilds, civic guard, students, past and present mayors – each of them had their own designated spot in the procession.
Despite the idealised notion of order and piety that the procession suggests, conflict was always lurking just around the corner in the medieval city of Amsterdam. For example, the rivalry between the ’Old’ (eastern) and ‘New’(western) part of the city would lead to brawls every year. The city’s magistrates not only punished those people who got into fights, but also imposed a maximum length for knives as a precaution.
1. The Silent Procession on the Warmoesstraat, 1996, photo by Jan Bogaerts
The old medieval route was once again adopted back in 1881. As Catholic processions were forbidden, it took the form of a ‘silent procession’, which took place at night and featured no ostentatious displays of grandeur. In 2016, around 5,000 people participated in the procession.
2. Interior of the Nieuwezijds Kapel chapel, around 1908, photo, reproduction
After the Alteration in 1578, the Kapel ter Heilige Stede or ‘Holy Site’ chapel passed into Protestant hands and was renamed the Nieuwezijds Kapel. The chapel was torn down in 1908.
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Showcase 2: Praying and fighting in the Middle Ages
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3. The Miracle of Amsterdam, 16th-century woodcut based on the original print from 1518
This print depicts the miracle of 1345. A dying man was having his last rites read to him in a house in the Kalverstraat. He was presented with the Host but threw it back up; it (pictured in the middle on the left) was then thrown into the fire, but remained unscathed. The Kapel ter Heilige Stede or ‘Holy Site’ chapel, also known as the Nieuwezijds Kapel, was built where this man’s house used to stand.
4. Page from a late medieval prayer book, Burgher Orphanage’s Archives
This vellum page may have been part of a prayer book at the city’s St Lucian monastery. In the late 16th-century, it was reused as a cover for a book containing the Burgher Orphanage’s records.
5. Bollock dagger, 1450-1550This type of dagger is longer than most ordinary knives, and named after the distinct ball-shaped protrusions on either side of the guard. It was found during the archaeological survey performed at the Damrak when the North-South line of the Amsterdam metro was being constructed.
6. Two knives, one with a matching wooden scabbard shaped like a fish, 1450-1550
These knives were found during the archaeological survey performed at the Damrak when the North-South line of the Amsterdam metro was being constructed.
7. Pilgrim insignias depicting the Miracle of Amsterdam, 1475-1525
The miraculous Host is featured in the centre. In the Middle Ages, thousands of pilgrims would visit Amsterdam each year and bring one of these insignias home with them as proof of their pilgrimage.
8. Conviction of skipper Elbert Bouwenszoon for brawling, 14 August 1548, Mayors’ Archives
The traditional brawl between youngsters from the Old and New side of town took place on the Nieuwe Brug (New Bridge) every year, on St Jacob’s Day (July 25th). They would throw stones, and people would invariably end up hurt. Brouwerszoon was sentenced to eleven weeks of imprisonment on a diet of ‘bier ende broede’, beer and bread.
9. Law regarding the length and width of knives, 1459, Mayors’ Archives
On May 6th, 1459, the city’s magistrates decreed that no one would be permitted to wear knives longer than nine thumb lengths, no longer than around 22 cm. A measure of that maximum length was hung outside the city hall. It also contained a hole, which the blunt tip of your knife could not penetrate by more than around 1.5 cm, one finger’s width, meaning that narrow stabbing knives were not permitted.
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Showcase 3: The turbulent sixteenth century
After 1520, Europe was scourged by reformers who aimed to reshape the Catholic Church. In the night of 11 February 1535, a group of Amsterdam residents ran through the city streets naked. They were the Anabaptists, who had broken away from the Catholic Church entirely, convinced that the Last Judgment was nigh. Several months later, a group of Anabaptists successfully occupied the city hall. However, they were soon overpowered and sentenced to death. Emperor Charles V was shocked by the events and made sure that all seats in the city magistrate would be held by devout Catholics from then on.
When the Dutch Revolt took off in 1568, the city of Amsterdam initially stayed loyal to the Spanish authorities; it finally joined the revolt ten years later. At that point, the Catholic magistrates were forced to step down and were banished from the city.
and civic guard during a battle on Dam Square. The Watergeuzen, who rebelled against the Spanish authorities, had been attacking the area surrounding the city frequently as of 1572. In 1578, Amsterdam had become fully isolated and finally joined the Dutch Revolt.
4. De Nieuwe Kerk, 1612, etching by Claes Jansz Visscher
The Nieuwe Kerk and Oude Kerk (‘New Church’ and ‘Old Church’, respectively) were the city’s most important churches in medieval times.
2. Anabaptists in Amsterdam, 1535, engraving, 17th century
On 11 February 1535, just after three o’clock in the morning, seven men and five women ran through the city streets naked, calling out ‘woe, woe, woe, Heavenly Father, revenge, revenge, revenge!’.
3. Attack of the Watergeuzen (literally: ‘Sea Beggars’) on the Haarlemmerpoort gate, 1577, etching and engraving F. Hogenberg and G. von Campen
On 23 November 1577, a group of around 450 Watergeuzen (William of Orange’s sailor rebels) entered the city via the Haarlemmerpoort. They were defeated by the city’s soldiers
1. Map of Amsterdam in 1544, published between 1618-1623 by Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg, etching and engraving
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Showcase 3: The turbulent sixteenth century
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5. The bodies of the Anabaptists are taken to the gallows field on the Volewijk, 1535, etching and engraving 1665
The gallows field was located on the other side of the IJ bay, directly across from the city. It made for a fearsome sight to behold for anyone approaching the city via the IJ bay.
6. Anabaptists’ execution on the Dam Square, 1535, etching and engraving, 17th century
The Anabaptists who occupied the city hall were executed on a scaffold on the Dam Square. Their hearts were cut from their chests while they were alive, and thrown in their faces (‘in hun aangezicht geworpen’).
7. The catholic magistrates’ banishment from the city, 1578, etching by Jan Luijken, around 1680-1693
On 26 May 1578, the catholic magistrates and clergymen were banished from the city. They were escorted from the Dam Square to a barge and taken out onto the IJ bay.
8. Inventory of silver religious items in the Nieuwe Kerk, 1570, Mayors’ Archives
The page on the right bears a list of silver statues, monstrances, dishes and thuribles and their weights, such as a statue of the Mother Mary weighing 19 pounds (‘It(em) Tmarien beelt wecht xix pont’).
Many reformers strived for simplicity and were affronted by the Catholic Church’s wealth.
9. Magistrates’ book containing a report of the Anabaptist riot, 1523-1578
Between 1534 and 1526, Joost Buyck, a schepen (a type of alderman) of the city of Amsterdam, wrote an eyewitness account of the rise and fall of the Anabaptists. On these pages, he describes how they occupied the city hall on the night of 10 May 1535; armed with swords and both short and long halberds, they took Dam square and the city hall by force, murdering some of the guards.
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Anabaptists in Amsterdam, 1535 (Showcase 3)Believing the Last Judgement was near, naked Anabaptist roamed the streets at night. They were swiftly arrested and convicted by the disturbed authorities. In hindsight, their actions marked the turn form the Middle Ages to a new era. This image was printed in the 17th century, when Amsterdam townsfolk started to look back at their own history.
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Rembrandt van Rijn, 18th century drawing based on a self-portrait dated 1639 (Showcase 4)Being at the heart of the Dutch Golden Age, Amsterdam was the place to be for the young Rembrandt. Here he found his most important clients and developed into one of the most famous painters and printmakers of all times. The Amsterdam City Archives keeps many documents about his life, such as his marriage registration and the baptism of his children. Rembrandt and Amsterdam, they belong together.
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Showcase 4: An immigrant city in the Dutch Golden Age
DENEMARKEN 72DENMARK
NOORWEGEN 147NORWAY
ZWEDEN 72SWEDEN
ENGELAND 25ENGLAND
NOORD-DUITSLAND 403NORTH GERMANY
WEST-DUITSLAND 426WEST GERMANY
NEDERLAND 1407NETHERLANDS
FRANKRIJK 83FRANCE
Waar kwamen de Amsterdammers die in 1663 trouwden vandaan?Birthplaces of Amsterdammers who were married in 1663
Amsterdam 2196
BELGIË 161BELGIUM
SCHOTLAND 14SCOTLAND
ZWITSERLAND 1SWITZERLAND
POLEN 13POLAND
BALTISCHE STATEN 6BALTIC STATES
ITALIË 5ITALY
OOST-DUITSLAND 18EAST GERMANY
NEW AMSTERDAM 1
MAURITIUS 1ANGOLA 1BRAZILIË 8
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OOSTENRIJK 4AUSTRIA
IJSLAND 1ICELAND
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SPANJE 2SPAIN
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Rembrandt van Rijn from Leiden, Joost van den Vondel from Germany, and Elsje Christiaans from Denmark; in the 17th century, all three of them ended up in Amsterdam. And they were far from the only ones! Throughout the Dutch Golden Age, Amsterdam grew to become one of the most important cities in the world. Trade and shipping brought unprecedented wealth, and as a result, science and art flourished.
The city’s success drew in many people from abroad. In the year 1600, one in every three Amsterdam residents was an immigrant. The population tripled, and thus, the city soon became to small to accommodate everyone. This was the reason for starting the construction of Amsterdam’s famous ring of canals.
3. Map of Amsterdam depicting the city’s fourth expansion, 1663, engraving
During the 17th century, the population of Amsterdam grew from around 60,000 inhabitants in 1600 to 200,000 in 1670. The city clearly needed to expand.
4. Jewish marriage contract between Ishac Israel Frois and Rachel, daughter of Jeudah Touro, 25 June 1664, Portuguese-Israelite Community’s Archives
In the 17th century, Amsterdam was home to a large Jewish community.
1. Birthplaces of people who were married in Amsterdam in 1663
From everywhere people were attracted to the thriving and tolerant merchant city with trade contacts stretching across the globe.
2. Dam Square in 1656, drawing by Reinier Craeyvanger, around 1860, based on a painting by Jan Lingelbach dated 1656
On the left, the new city hall building (the current Royal Palace of Amsterdam) is being constructed. The building in the middle is the city’s Waag or ‘weighing house’, which was torn down in 1806. This was the most important square in the city, and it was always crowded with servants, pedlars, vendors, wealthily attired citizens and merchants from all around the globe, such as the party of merchants from Armenia on the right.
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Showcase 4: An immigrant city in the Dutch Golden Age
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5. Joost van den Vondel (1587-1679), late 17th century, drawing by Johan Faber
Vondel was seven years old when he and his parents moved from Cologne to Amsterdam, where he became a famous poet and wrote his well-known tragedy Gijsbrecht van Aemstel.
6. Rembrandt van Rijn, 18th century drawing based on a self-portrait dated 1639
Rembrandt was 25 years old when he moved from Leiden to Amsterdam. Here, he developed into a famous artist.
7. The Gouden Bocht or ‘Golden Bend’ in the Herengracht, as seen from the Vijzelstraat facing the Koningsplein square, 1700-1730, drawing by Abraham Rademaker
This was the most prestigious section of the Herengracht, where the richest people in Amsterdam society had homes built for them in the 17th century.
8. Registry recording couples’ intention to marry, May 1663, Civil Registry Archives
In the middle of the left page, you will see an entry regarding Joris Antonisse from Brazil, ‘swart’ (‘black’) and Lijsbet Joosten, from Angola. These notices of marriages are an important source on the origins of Amsterdam’s new residents, who sometimes came from very far abroad indeed.
9. Confession book containing the statements of detained suspects, 1664, Archives of the Mayor and Aldermen
The page on the right details the start of the interrogation of ‘Elsje Christiaanse van Sprouwen in Jutlant [Denmark], oudt 18 jaren’ (‘18 years old’). In May 1664, she was sentenced for murdering her landlady, whom she had hit in the head with an axe during an argument. Elsje was sentenced to death by garrotte. She had moved to Amsterdam just two weeks earlier, to earn some money.
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Showcase 5: Amsterdam and slavery
Mayor Harman Hendrik van de Poll was one of the Amsterdam citizens to invest in slave ship De Watervliet in 1743. The ship first sailed to the west coast of Africa, where it took on 462 enslaved men, women and children. By the time they arrived in Suriname, a Dutch colony on the north eastern coast of South America, 62 had died due to disease, lack of food, or maltreatment. For the others, the hardest part was yet to come: life on the plantation. The ship would then travel back to Amsterdam filled with coffee and raw sugar, produced with slave labour.
This journey by De Watervliet was one of at least 323 slave transports that were completed by Amsterdam-based ships throughout the 17th and 18th century. Over 115,000 slaves were transported from Africa to the plantations in the colonies; over 18,000 of them did not survive the journey.
4. List of slave ships that set out from Amsterdam between 1741 and 1745, Bicker Family Archives A member of the Amsterdam-based Bicker family took note of which ships had left for Africa and the West Indies from Amsterdam and then come back, including skippers, levies paid, and number of slaves that made it across the Atlantic alive. De Watervliet is mentioned twice, in 1741 and 1743.
5. Ships on the IJ, 1772, drawing by Hendrik Kobell As seen from across the IJ bay, facing Amsterdam. For many centuries, bearing goods from all over the world would put in at this harbour.
1. Portrait of mayor Harman Hendrik van de Poll, 1748, engraving by Jacob Houbraken The report of De Watervliet’s second journey lists that Van de Poll owned a one sixteenth share in this venture.
2. Prince William V of Orange takes his seat as commander in chief of the New West India Company, 1768, drawing by Simon Fokke, dated 1771 The New West India Company’s headquarters was located at the Voetboogdoelen (the former crossbowmen’s shooting range) on 425 Singel. The NWIC was the successor of the earlier Dutch West India Company, which went bankrupt in 1674.
3. The Hegt en Sterk plantation in Suriname, around 1750, drawing This coffee plantation was located along the Commewijne river in Suriname. At the centre is the plantation owner’s grand home. On the left are the so-called ‘neegerhuisen’ or ‘negro houses’, the slaves’ quarters.
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6. Allegorical print on the Society of Suriname, 1720, etching and engraving by Bernard Picart The Society of Suriname was a private enterprise aimed at generating profit through the colony’s management. The coats of arms in the print refer to the Society’s three owners: the WIC, the Van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck family, and the city of Amsterdam.
7. List of words that were used on the plantations with their Dutch translations alongside, around 1771, Huis Marquette Archives The creole language that arose on the plantations, called Sranan, is now one of Suriname’s official languages. Modern-day Amsterdam slang still features words that originated on the plantations, such as ‘fava’ (‘hot’) of ‘lobi’ (‘love’).
8. Report of slave ship De Watervliet’s second journey, 1743, Archives of the Mayor and Aldermen The stakeholders for De Watervliet’s second journey include the members of many prominent Amsterdam families, such as Van de Poll, Witsen and Bicker. This report is a so-called ‘general average’, which was drawn up because the ship had suffered damage along the way. All parties in the venture had to share any such losses.
9. Statement for notary Joost van de Ven about the maltreatment of slaves, 1765, Notarial Archives Crewmembers of the ship ‘De Juffrouwen Anna en Maria’ declared that the captain and the first mate had treated the slaves in ‘an inhumane manner, beating them and kicking them as though they were not humans but beasts’.
10. A collecting pot for molasses and a sugar mould, used in Amsterdam’s sugar manufacturing industry, found during archaeological survey, dating back to the 17th or 18th century The city’s sugar refineries turned the raw sugar that was shipped from the plantations into molasses and regular sugar. This is how products that had been grown by virtue of slave labour ended up on the kitchen tables of many Amsterdam homes.
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Statement for notary Joost van de Ven about the maltreatment of slaves, 1765, Notarial Archives (Showcase 5)This impressive book contains some of the black pages of Amsterdam’s history: the involvement in the slave trade. In curly eighteenth-century writing, the shocking testimony of the mistreatment of slaves during transport across the Atlantic is noted. Such rare documents are preserved in the extensive archives of the Amsterdam notaries.
A collecting pot for molasses and a sugar mould, used in Amsterdam’s sugar manufacturing industry, found during archaeological survey, dating back to the 17th or 18th century (Showcase 5)Raw sugar was put into the mould and the slow dripping of water onto the raw mass resulted in two products: syrup in the collecting pot and a refined sugar cone in the mould. The floors of the sugar factories were filled with dozens of these ceramic installations.
Report of slave ship De Watervliet’s second journey, 1743, Archives of the Mayor and Aldermen (Showcase 5)The damage during the second voyage of the slave ship De Watervliet was paid for by the group of Amsterdam merchants who had invested in this ship. Thanks to this document we know the names of all the investors and it becomes clear that the cost of equipping the ship was 95,000 guilders; an indication of the profits of the slave trade.
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Showcase 6: Foundlings in a waning city
‘Figs in the mouth will still this child’s cries’, read the note attached to an eight-month-old girl. Her parents – and many others like them – had been driven by poverty to leave their daughter at the orphanage.
By the end of the 18th century, Amsterdam’s prosperity had waned. During the rule of the French between 1795 and 1813, trade came to a virtual standstill. The city of Amsterdam grew pourer and slowly began to fall apart; buildings collapsed and the entrance to the IJ bay became blocked by sludge. Due to illnesses and malnourishment, pour children had little chance of surviving. Around the year 1800, two to three children were left in the street every single day. These foundlings would end up at the Aalmoezeniersweeshuis, the poor’s orphanage.
1. Map of Amsterdam and its cholera neighbourhoods, 1832
This map depicts the cholera hospitals and the graveyards for burying so-called ‘cholera bodies’. The cholera epidemic of 1832-33 took the lives of around 1,200 Amsterdam residents.
2. Aalmoezeniersweeshuis, 1693, etching
The Aalmoezeniersweeshuis (the poor’s orphanage) on 436 Prinsengracht canal was opened on 1 January 1666. It had room for 800 children when it was first opened; by 1807, it was home to 2,554 orphans and foundlings.
3. The collapsed Oost-Indisch Zeemagazijn or ‘East India Sea Warehouse’ at Oostenburg, 1822, drawing by Gerrit Lamberts
On April 13th, part of the former Dutch East India Company’s warehouse collapsed with a thunderous roar. The Dutch East India Company had been dissolved in 1799 in a virtually bankrupt state.
4. Bystanders look after a women who has fainted from hunger, 21 June 1808, drawing by Christiaan Andriessen
The caption for this drawing reads as follows: ’21 June. This woman had lost her husband and had been left with no livelihood to support her children; at her wit’s end, she had left the house with her daughter. On the Buiten Amstel (along the river Amstel outside the city), she was overcome by hunger; Mr Muisken refused to give her a loaf of bread.’
5. The entrance to the Leidsestraat with its collapsed houses, as seen from the Leidseplein, 1806, etching end engraving
On 22 February 1806, the houses on the corner of the Leidseplein and Leidsestraat spontaneously collapsed. The site remained vacant for many years after that.
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Showcase 6: Foundlings in a waning city
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6. The Goudsbloemgracht canal, around 1850, drawing by Willem Hekking jr.
As seen from the Lijnbaansgracht facing the Brouwersgracht. The heavily polluted Goudsbloemgracht was filled in back in 1854 and then renamed the Willemsstraat.
7. Registry of children taken in by the Aalmoezeniersweeshuis or poor’s orphanage, 1806, Aalmoezeniersweehuis’ Archives
On January 1806, eight-month-old Cecelia Kroon was found behind the orphanage with a note reading ‘figs in the mouth will still this child’s cries’.
8. Registry of children taken in by the Aalmoezeniersweeshuis or poors’s orphanage, 1808, Aalmoezeniersweeshuis’ Archives
On Friday 21 October 1808, six-month-old Johanna Maria Tirset was found outside the orphanage’s girls’ gate. The note that she was left with read as follows: ‘In the worst possible circumstances, having come up short and ended up in need, fearing the coming winter, I am no longer able to care for this child and have been forced out of dire necessity to give her up to the orphanage. God bless and keep the one that does his good work.’
9. Registry of children taken in by the Aalmoezeniersweeshuis or poor’s orphanage, 1800, Aalmoezeniersweeshuis’ Archives
On 3 January 1800, Eliza Jacobs was found on the Prinsengracht canal when he was just one day old. A playing card cut in half had been left with him. His parents had kept the other half, so that if they ever wished to retrieve their child, they would be able to prove that he was theirs. Eliza was never retrieved; he died ten days later, on 13 January 1800.
10. China bowl, 18th centuryThis broken bowl is held together by small metal clips. It was found at an archaeological dig on the Koningsstraat in the Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood.
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Registry of children taken in by the Aalmoezeniersweeshuis or poor’s orphanage, 1800.This small book is a witness to the extreme poverty in Amsterdam around 1800. It contains the name of a foundling on each page, often together with the note that the parents had put in the child’s clothes. The note mentioned the name, the age and often also the religion.Eliza Jacobs was one day old when he was found on the Prinsengracht near the orphanage. He was given a playing card that had been cut in half. The parents kept the other half, hoping that one day they would be able to take him home again. But Eliza died ten days after he was found.
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Showcase 7: Amsterdam Zoo ‘Natura Artis Magistra’
A few parrots, monkeys, and a forest cat from Suriname were the first inhabitants of the new zoo founded in 1838, ‘Natura Artis Magistra’. Artis first started out as a typical 19th-century society; only members of the bourgeoisie could become members, and even then, they first had to make it through a very strict balloting process. The zoo was not just a place for admiring exotic animals, but also for exchanging the latest gossip, discussing potential marriages, and maintaining business contacts. It was not until the end of the 19th century that the zoo became publically accessible. When Artis ended up in dire financial straits in 1970, it proved loved among many; the ‘Artis must stay’ campaign collected enough money to save the zoo from going under.
1. ‘Artis must stay’, 1970In 1970, Artis was at the brink of bankruptcy. The ‘Artis must stay’ campaign represented the city’s and entire country’s effort to preserve the zoo.
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2. The main avenue in Artis, 1838-1856, lithography by Elias Spanier based on drawing by H.W. Last
The main avenue as seen upon entering the zoo, also known as the Papegaaienlaan or ‘Parrot Lane’.
3. Stuffed quagga at the Artis museum, 1896-1900, photo, Artis Archives, reproduction
This quagga died at Artis on 12 August 1883. It was the last of its kind. Heavy hunting caused this South-African cousin of the zebra to go extinct.
4. The camel park, around 1875, lithography by Noach van der Waals
5. Map of Artis, 1854, drawingIn 1854, the zoo’s grounds were roughly one third of their current size. The zoo was bisected by the Nieuwe Prinsengracht canal, which visitors would cross using a small ferry. Later on, the canal was converted into three ponds.
6. ‘Artis must stay’, 1970, drawing by Aernout Heetvelt, Artis Archives
Children collected money and submitted drawings in support of the campaign.
7. Members’ petition against letting commoners visit the zoo, 11 June 1855, Artis Archives
After the Artis society’s management had decided to grant non-members access to the garden, in the month of July only and against payment, 37 zoo members signed this petition asking management to reverse its decision. 89 other members suggested limited opening to the public.
8. G.F. Westerman, the first director of Artis, feeding Herman the hippo, 1865, photo of a print
Herman was the first ever hippo to be born in captivity and survive anywhere in the world.
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Showcase 8: 1883 World Fair
Over one million people from the Netherlands and from abroad visited Amsterdam in 1883 to attend the World Fair, the first ever International Colonial and Export Exhibition. On the ground behind the Rijksmuseum, the site of the modern-day Museumplein square, a huge exhibition took place for five months from May 1st onwards, featuring commodities and objects from the colonies. In the Surinamese tent and the Javanese kampong, visitors could even view ‘savages’, who had been specially shipped to Amsterdam for the occasion.
By the end of the 19th century, Amsterdam had recovered. The North Sea Canal, opened in 1876, connected the city to the North Sea, causing maritime trade and the manufacturing industries to blossom once more. The World Fair put Amsterdam back on the map; it represented the dawning of a second Golden Age.
1. Map of Amsterdam in 1883, lithography by A. Braakensiek, revised by A.J. van der Stok jr.
With inserts depicting the Vondelpark and Artis in more detail. The bottom of the map shows the outlay of the World Fair.
2. Bird’s eye view of the exhibition grounds, 1883, wood engraving by E.A. Tilly, based on a drawing by J.C. Greive
3. Bird’s eye view of the North Sea Canal, as seen from IJmuiden facing Amsterdam, 1876, lithography by G.J. van der Stok, based on a drawing by J.A. Rust
The North Sea Canal, opened in 1876, made the Amsterdam harbour easily accessible for modern ships, after many years of seclusion.
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4. Holidays in Holland. The Amsterdam Exhibition and dead cities of the Zuyder Zee, 1883
The 1883 World Fair drew many visitors from abroad.
5. Map of the World Fair’s grounds, 1883, lithography
The ideal route took visitors below the Rijksmuseum, only half-finished at the time, and past the various departments, national pavilions and hospitality establishments.
6. Posted advertising the ‘Surinamese tent’, 1883
During the World Fair, ‘various races of people native to Suriname’ were put on display here, including ‘forest Negros and Creole types’.
7. 13-year-old Johannes Kojo at the Surinamese tent, with visitors in the background, 1883, photogravure by G. Roche based on photo by F. Hisgen, reproduction
This photo is part of the ‘Les habitants de Suriname’ album dated 1884, which depicted residents of the Surinamese village.
8. Corporate advertising by Javanese porcelain manufacturer Seiji Kuaisha, 1883
The World Fair was the perfect occasion for manufacturers to advertise their wares, like this porcelain from Arita, Japan.
9. Invitation for the festive opening of the International Colonial and Export Exhibition, 1883
On 1 May 1883, the exhibition was opened with all due festivity, in the presence of King William III.
10. Tickets for the International Colonial and Export Exhibition, 1883
11. Central gallery of the colonial department in the main building, 1883, photo by Pieter Oosterhuis, reproduction
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Showcase 9: The Second World War
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Tens of thousands of Amsterdam residents went on strike on February 25th and 26th, 1941. They were protesting the first big raid of Jews that the German police had completed on the Waterlooplein square several days earlier. During this raid, 427 Jewish men had been arrested and taken away. The strike was off to a successful start, but was broken two days later due to the German occupying forces’ crackdown.
In 1942 started the systematic deportation of Jews. Of the city’s 80,000 Jewish inhabitants in 1940, 68,000 were murdered. An intrinsic element of the city’s character was thus lost forever.The annual commemoration of the February strike remembers more than just the Second World War; it also serves as a reminder that respect and tolerance are just as crucial for modern-day Amsterdam.
5. Nieuwmarkt with barbed wire blockade, 1941, photo by Charles Breijer
In the spring of 1941, the German authorities began closing off Amsterdam’s Jewish neighbourhood – though a true Jewish ghetto was never formed.
6. Houses on the Lepelstraat during demolition, 1945, photo by Nico Swaager
These houses without facades, on 28-30 Lepelstraat, had been robbed of all timber during the Hongerwinter (literally: ‘hunger winter’, the Dutch famine of 1944-45). The Jewish inhabitants had been deported in 1942 and 1943. Only one of these families survived the war. For decades after, there were many gaps left in the Weesperstraat and Water-looplein neighbourhood.
7. De Dokwerker (‘The Dockworker’), 1964, woodcut by Henk van der Horst
Viewed against the backdrop of the Amsterdam city centre and the harbour. To commemorate the February strike, the Dokwerker statue was unveiled on the Jonas Daniël Meijerplein back in 1952.
1. Police telegram by acting chief of police K.H. Broekhoff, 26 February 1941
This telegram ordered the use of firearms to break the strike.
2. Communication by mayor Willem de Vlugt, addressed to the strikers, 25 February 1941
On the first day of the strike, mayor Willem de Vlugt called on the striking municipal staff to go back to work, under pain of penalties or dismissal.
3. Rounding up of Jews in the Uiterwaardenstraat near the Gaaspstraat, 1943, photo by A. Wijnberg
A covert image, taken from the photographer’s home on 59-II Uiterwaardenstraat.
4. Survey for tram staff regarding the February strike, 1941
Tram drivers and conductors were obliged to fill in this form. Those who had participated in the strike were given a fine or were dismissed.
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8. Police Reports regarding suicides and suicide attempts, Pieter Aertszstraat police station, 14-15 May 1940, Municipal Police Archives
After the German raid on May 10th, many dozens of Jews who no longer fostered any illusions about the intentions of the Nazi regime, took control of their own destiny. Some were saved by vigilant neighbours. Several years later, the massive persecutions of Jews that took place claimed most of their lives after all. Sisters Sara and Judith Lelie, who attempted suicide on May 14th on 94-I Amsteldijk running the gas tap (a commonly used method) were resuscitated on time. They eventually survived the war.
9. Memorial album containing photographs of Amsterdam during the Second World War, presented to the mayor of Amsterdam, 1945
This photo by Cas Oorthuys shows one of the municipal cleaning department’s carts blocking the tram tracks on the Bilderdijkstraat. This is one of the few photographs depicting the February strike in action.A second copy of this album, containing English captions, was presented to Canadian general T. Rutherford as a token of gratitude from the people of Amsterdam to its Canadian liberators.
10. Identification papers belonging to the Jewish Noach Rotstein (Lodz in Poland, 1911) and Reina Schuitevoerder (Amsterdam, 1911) and Jewish badges, Civil Registry Archives
These were found in a house on 24-II Semarangstraat, a former Jewish safe house, in 1960. From May 1942 onwards, Jews had to wear special badges to mark them out as being Jewish, as well as have the letter ‘J’ stamped in their identification papers. On 11 November 1943, Reina Schuitevoerder and Noach Rotstein were arrested on the Semarangstraat. They were then taken to Auschwitz, where they were murdered in 1944.
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Identification papers belonging to the Jewish Noach Rotstein (Lodz in Poland, 1911) and Reina Schuitevoerder (Amsterdam, 1911) and Jewish Badges, Civil Registry Archive (Showcase 9)The Second World War brought relentless persecution for the Jewish inhabitants of Amsterdam. The identity card - with the stamped J - was, just like the yellow star that Jews were obliged to wear, a means of separating them from their fellow citizens. These identity cards were found in 1960 during a renovation at a former hiding place on Semarangstraat 42-II. Reina Schuitevoerder and Noah Rotstein were arrested there on 11 November 1943. They were murdered in Auschwitz in 1944. Their identity cards are one of the few things that reminds us of them.
Showcase 10: Provo’s, hippies and squatters
During the live television transmission of the carriage ride after princess Beatrix and Claus von Amsberg’s wedding on 10 March 1966, people’s television screens suddenly went white. A smoke bomb had been set off. Moments later, someone managed to throw a live chicken at the Gouden Koets (literally ‘golden coach’) the royal couple was riding in. These efforts were inspired by Provo, a group of young people who rejected the establishment. Provo was dissolved in 1967, but the tide could no longer be turned.
For a little while, Amsterdam was the Magical Capital of the world. Young people experimented with drugs, and hippies slept out in the Vondelpark. Provo also inspired the city’s first squatters. The blowback against the far-reaching urban renewal in the old part of the city came to a head in 1973-75 in the Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood. From there, the squatters spread all over town.
3. Kraak de Kroning, poster dated 1980
The squatters of Amsterdam seized Queen Beatrix’ coronation on 30 April 1980 as the perfect occasion to stage a protest, with the following catchphrase as their motto: ‘Geen woning, geen kroning!’ (‘no homes, no coronation’).
4. ‘Provo riots: hard hits along the wedding route’. Headlines of Trouw newspaper, 11 March 1966, Municipal Police Archives
The disturbances during the wedding of princess Beatrix and Claus von Amsberg on 10 March 1966 in Amsterdam made the national and international papers, and cemented Amsterdam’s reputation as a troublesome city.
1. Provo electoral campaign for the municipal council elections, 1966, photo by Cor Jaring
Party leader Bernhard de Vries poses in front of the election cart with its white bicycle in front of the police station on the Leidseplein. Provo won a single seat on the council.
2. ‘1 May = red’ demonstration organised by the Young Socialists’ Movement and student association Politeia, 1 May 1967, photo by Cor Jaring
The procession wound through the Spuistraat.
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5. Lowlands Weed Company on houseboat De Witte Raaf (‘the White Raven’) on the Nieuwevaart, around 1970, photo by Cor Jaring
Diagonally across from the Kattenburg police station, Kees Hoekert (left) and Robert Jasper Grootveld (right) created a cannabis farm, with the aim of stimulating the ‘cannabisation our society’. They sold their plants for one guilder each.
6. Stickers ‘Nieuwmarkt stays!’ en ‘No metro; houses instead’, 1974-1975
The resistance of the squatters and the inhabitants of the Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood was unable to stop the construction of Amsterdam’s metro line. However, the new highway that the municipality had planned was averted, and the small-scale feel of the Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood was preserved.
7. Notes by the Nieuwmarkt action committee about the construction of the metro’s east line, 1974-75
The way the title winds across the page represents the path the metro would take through the neighbourhood, requiring many houses to be torn down.
8. PROVO nr. 3, 1965, Municipal Police Archives
This magazine was used by the Provo movement to report on the provocations they had instigated and provided tips on how to disrupt the authorities in an absurdist manner.
9. Hippies at the Vondelpark during the ‘Summer of Love’, 1967, photo by Cor Jaring
Flower Power and pop music took possession of the Vondelpark throughout the summer of 1967.
10. Notebook containing reports of the municipal squatting negotiations and the house meetings held at 413 Keizersgracht (a squat), 1980-1981
The pages of this notebook are filled with notes on the squatters’ laborious interactions with the municipality, their attempts to have the squat on the Keizersgracht legalised, and their domestic affairs. On the left, the minutes of one of their meetings: ‘Our costs for food gosky high (…) be aware of our Western World luxuries, like cheese, eggs, etc.’.
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Showcase 11: I Amsterdam
‘In Mokum, I am rich and happy at the same time’, Johnny Jordaan sang in 1955. Eight centuries of history have shaped the Dutch capital’s unique character. The people of Amsterdam prize freedom and individuality, which holds an irresistible appeal to people from all over the world.The famous canals that date back to the Dutch Golden Age, the Jordaan neighbourhood, the Red Light District and the coffee shops, the cafés and the clubs. The Canal Parade and the Kwaku summer festival, King’s Day celebrations, the Royal Wedding and the Kings Coronation…Amsterdam has got it all.
2. Johan Cruijff, 1969, photo by ANPJohan Cruijff in action during the Telstar-Ajax match on 7 April 1969.
3. ‘You’ll never walk alone’ – to every AJAX supporter, 1989
In 1989, the new Ajax management asked its supporters to stay out of trouble in the stands, so that the players would be able to focus fully on the match.
4. Two women on the Tweede Tuindwarsstraat in the Jordaan neighbourhood, 1967
5. Jordaan Festival, 11-19 September 1954, poster
In 1949, residents of the Jordaan neighbourhood first organised the Jordaan Festival on the Palmgracht, to breathe new life into what was then Amsterdam’s poorest neighbourhood. The festival was a huge success, and is still celebrated every year.
Famous Dutch artists such as André Hazes, Wolter Kroes and Marco Borsato have played the festival.
6. Amsterdam’s coat of arms, 1898, drawing
The Ministry of Justice’s confirmation of the city’s 1816 grant of arms. The three crosses were used as the city’s coat of arms as far back as the fourteenth century.
7. ‘The little woman’, 1976, drawing by Jan Rot
A redhead prostitute stands by the entrance to the semi-basement, while another prostitute is sitting behind the window, reading a porn magazine. Amsterdam’s Red Light District, colloquially known as ‘De Wallen’, dates back to the time when the harbour of Amsterdam was at its height; they are now a major tourist attraction.
1. Amsterdam, 1955, posterFrom the start of the 20th century on-wards, many touring boats have been circulating the canals of Amsterdam.
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8. The wedding of prince Willem-Alexander and Máxima Zorreguieta, 2 February 2002, photo by Martin Alberts
The Royal Palace of Amsterdam on Dam square with an honour guard made up of members of the Royal Netherlands Army. Fans of the monarchy are awaiting the royal couple’s appearance on the balcony. As the capital of the Netherlands, Amsterdam is where all Dutch heads of state are married and crowned.
9. Two visitors of the Kwaku festival at the Bijlmerpark, 1992, photo by Doriann Kransberg
The Kwaku festival has been celebrated at the Bijlmerpark (now called the Mandelapark) every summer as of 1975. It started out as a Surinamese football tournament, but has since grown into a large multicultural festival.
10. Canal Parade on the Prinsengracht at the height of the Reestraat, 1997, photo by Bert Gerlagh
This colourful parade of party boats has been part of the annual Amsterdam Gay Pride as of 1996. During the first weekend of August, the Canal Parade celebrates Amsterdam’s characteristic freedom and diversity.
11. Club card and announcement of drum and bass party ‘Flow’ at club RoXY, around 1992 and 1996
From 1987 onwards, RoXY was a popular club on the Singel and renowned for its extravagant parties. The club burned to the ground in 1999 and was never reopened.
12. Hash pipe, second half of the 20th century
Found during an archaeological survey on the Oudezijds Achterburgwal in the Red Light District.
13. Zó is de Jordaan (literally: ‘This is what the Jordaan neighbourhood really is like’), Tante Leen (‘Aunt Leen’) and Johnny Jordaan, 1964, LP record
This record featured famous hits such as ‘Geef mij maar Amsterdam’ (‘I’d rather have Amsterdam’) and ‘Bij ons in de Jordaan’ (‘In our Jordaan neighbourhood’).
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Showcase 12: Moving outside
At the end of the 19th century, Amsterdam once again began expanding, a growing process that has not stopped ever since. The General Expansion Plan of 1934 was the first ever initiative aimed at striking a good balance between home, work, leisure and traffic. The construction of the Bijlmermeer neighbourhood in 1966, the start of the current south-eastern district of Amsterdam, represented the last ever large-scale urbanisation of the city’s rural surroundings. IJburg is the city’s newest addition, and is constructed on artificial islands in the waters of the IJ lake. Proper collaboration with the greater region is inevitable these days. Amsterdam is now the centre of a vast metropolitan area.
1. Amsterdam and its surroundings, 1770, etching and engraving, Jan Mol
From the 16th century onwards, Amsterdam started having more and more of an impact on the surrounding countryside. This ‘New Map of the World-Famous Merchant City Amsterdam and its Area’ shows how intensively the city’s immediate surroundings were being utilised in 1770.
2. Map of the General Expansion Plan, 1934
Municipal urban planner Cornelis van Eesteren and his staff worked on this now world-famous plan from 1928 onwards. The alternation of urban neighbourhoods and green areas has determined Amsterdam’s current shape.
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3. So-called honeycomb apartment buildings in the Bijlmermeer neighbourhood, 1990, photo by Doriann Kransberg
As a result of urban renewal, most of these flats, which were once seen as the city’s future, have since been torn down.
4. IJburg, 22 May 2009, photo by Doriann Kransberg
As seen from the Diemer Vijfhoek facing the city, with the Buiten-IJ on the right.
5. The road from Nieuwendam to Broek in Waterland at Zunderdorp, 1895, drawing by S.H. de Roos
Around 1900, the people of Amsterdam began discovering the beauty of the landscape and nature surrounding the city. Due to the city’s rapid growth during the 20th century, much of this picturesque rural landscape has disappeared.
6. ‘For the future of 100,000 Amsterdam residents’, 1962
This brochure represented the municipality’s plea for the city’s expansion towards the southeast. The three crosses of Amsterdam bisect the Bijlmermeerpolder landscape and the Oost Bijlmerpolder.
7. Amsterdam, 1970, offset, Public Works Department
The city’s post-war expansion was completed In 1970: the Tuinsteden area in Amsterdam-West, Buitenveldert and parts of Amsterdam-North. At the time, Amsterdam had already embarked on its next urban planning adventure: the Bijlmermeer neighbourhood, whose honeycomb apartment buildings were still the sole structures in a wide expanse at this time. The A10 ring road had also yet to be constructed.
8. Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, 2016, Plan Amsterdam 2016-2
Amsterdam and the surrounding municipalities form a single metropolitan area nowadays, stretching from IJmuiden to Lelystad.
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Hermes or Mercury, 1926, Oswald Wenckebach (1895-1962) (Floor plan: G)On loan from the ABN AMRO Art and Historical Collections, Amsterdam
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Charter cabinet, 15th century (Floor plan: H)For many centuries, the most important records in Amsterdam were stored in this wooden archival cabinet – such as the city’s charter and the Toll Privilege issued by count Floris V in 1275, which is the earliest known document to ever make mention of Amsterdam. Up until 1892, the cabinet was located in special room in the ‘Oude Kerk’ or Old Church of Amsterdam. Tree-ring dating on the wood used to make the cabinet has allowed scientists to determine that it was made after 1443, possibly after the great fire of 1452, making this one of the oldest cabinets in the whole of the Netherlands. It illustrates the amount of care that was taken to keep the city’s records, even as far back as the late medieval period.
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Former Boiler room (Floor plan: M)Marble panel from the Boiler room. The Bazel building, now home to the Amsterdam City Archives, was build in 1926 to house the offices of the Nederlandsche Handel Maatschappij (Dutch Trading Company). It was provided with ultra-modern technical installations for heating and ventilation, an air-tube mail circulation system and a central clock system.
Drawers belonging to the Amsterdam Orphanage Board (Floor plan: K)These drawers were used by the local ‘Weeskamer’ or Orphanage Board to store the documents that belonged to orphans or half-orphans’ estates. These documents are now stored in the City Archives’s depots. The Orphanage Board’s archive is one of the oldest and most important archives of the city. The extensive archive covers 256 meters of shelf length and spans five centuries. The oldest piece dates from 1309.
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Colophon
The Amsterdam Treasure Room - The city’s history in twelve striking stories is a publication of Amsterdam City Archives, part of the City of Amsterdam (Gemeente Amsterdam).
Management and EditingAmsterdam City ArchivesPatricia PolsFrank DriessenKim HensbergenBetty den Exter Blokland – Communicatiebureau Gemeente Amsterdam
Dutch to English translationVertaalbureau Perfect
Design Renee Bakker – Communicatiebureau Gemeente Amsterdam
Design Floor plan3w Media B.V. Jos Fleurkens – Wil Marketing
Printing ServicesOBT Opmeer De Bink Tenders
CreditsAmsterdam City Archives (unless otherwise stated)Alphons Nieuwenhuis – Communicatiebureau Gemeente Amsterdam (front and back cover; p. 2-3; p. 6, p. 10; p. 11 (top); p. 17; p. 22; p. 23; p. 26-27; p. 34-35; p. 44; p. 44-45; p. 46-47; p. 48-49; p. 50-51)ANP (p. 39: 2)Jan Bogaerts (p. 12: 1)Charles Breijer, Nederlands Fotomuseum (p. 33: 5)Henk van der Horst (p. 33: 7)Cor Jaring (p. 36: 1; p. 37: 2, 5, 9)Monuments and Archeology Amsterdam (p. 8: 1-2; p. 9: 3-4, 6-12; p. 13: 5-7; p. 21: 10; p. 25: 10, p. 39: 12)Gerlinde Schuller (p. 18: 1)A. Wijnberg (p. 33: 3)
ContactAmsterdam City ArchivesVijzelstraat 321017 HL AMSTERDAM
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