Several decades ago, the Amsterdam authorities decided to demolish hundreds of historic buildings. Entire blocks and streets of the former Jewish quarter disappeared, and the bulldozers spared almost nothing, leaving only a few historic buildings standing in some places. The centuries-old houses were to make way for wider roads, modern buildings and a metro tunnel. Although the demolitions were carried out with the aim of modernising the city, Amsterdam now recognises some of those decisions as mistakes.
Jodenbuurt – the merchants’ quarter
Before the narrow houses were demolished by construction machinery, the areas around Jodenbreestraat, Waterlooplein and Sint Antoniesbreestraat were among the most densely built-up parts of Amsterdam. Narrow, brick townhouses with stepped and bell-shaped gables housed flats, shops, warehouses and workshops. Behind the front buildings lay cramped courtyards and further outbuildings.
From the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, Sephardic Jews from the Iberian Peninsula settled here, followed later by Ashkenazi newcomers from Central and Eastern Europe. Alongside wealthy merchants lived small traders, diamond cutters, craftsmen and labourers, living side by side with Christians of various denominations. Rembrandt also lived on Jodenbreestraat.
Waterlooplein (Waterloo Square) was created in 1882 after the Houtgracht and Leprozengracht canals were filled in, and the market held there perpetuated the neighbourhood’s commercial tradition. However, it was not merely a picturesque world. Jodenhouttuinen, a street running parallel to Jodenbreestraat, was one of the poorest. It was characterised by overcrowding, damp and appalling sanitary conditions, which in turn fostered disease. In 1901, civil servant L. Hermans described a population density more than seven times higher than the city average.
Jewish street market, fish trade – c. 1900. Photo: amsterdam.nl
Amsterdam during the occupation
The German occupation brought about the end of the Jewish quarter as a multi-generational community. According to the Anne Frank Foundation, between 1941 and 1945 the Germans deported around 60,000 Jews from Amsterdam – the majority of whom were murdered. Homes, shops and workshops were left deserted, and with their owners, a significant part of local social life was lost.
During the famine-stricken winter of 1944–1945, firewood was torn from the empty houses, further deteriorating their condition. After the war, the survivors returned to the city to find their premises either ruined or occupied. The neighbourhood never regained its former spirit, but nor did it become completely deserted. New residents moved in, businesses operated there, and later artists and squatters arrived. The condition of the buildings varied. Some were in danger of collapsing, others could be renovated, and some were still fit for use.
Amsterdam and mass demolitions
Post-war town planners sought to improve housing conditions and transport links, but also to transform the city centre into a district of offices, hotels and large-scale services. In 1953, the city council adopted redevelopment plans for, amongst others, Jodenbreestraat, Nieuwmarkt and Weesperstraat, which involved mass demolitions. Jodenhouttuinen Street had almost entirely disappeared by the 1960s, whilst Jodenbreestraat was widened to roughly twice its original width. Some of the houses were demolished to make way for new thoroughfares and major developments intended to replace the former residential and commercial buildings.
Construction of the metro tunnel
The construction of the underground, which began in 1970, brought further large-scale destruction of old houses. Concrete caissons were used during the project. These 40-metre sections of tunnel were constructed above ground, then lowered into the excavation and joined together underground. The technology employed required the removal of a strip of buildings along the route. Archival photographs show excavators tearing down walls, and cranes and lorries hauling away the rubble. Entire streets were transformed into open building sites.
Demolitions, 1970s. Photo: Hans Peters for Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Huis de Pinto stood in the way of the thoroughfare
Opposition to such a drastic redevelopment of the historic centre united Amsterdammers, squatters and heritage conservationists. Activists from Aktiegroep Nieuwmarkt fought to preserve residential buildings and the original street layout. Huis de Pinto at Sint Antoniesbreestraat 69, which had belonged to a Portuguese-Jewish family of merchants since 1651, played a particularly important role in the whole process of saving this heritage. The city acquired the neglected but historically invaluable residence in 1968 with the intention of demolishing it. Thanks to the commitment of Geurt Brinkgreve and the Stichting De Pinto foundation, the house with its classical façade was saved. The restoration of the building was completed in 1975. Its preservation helped to maintain the street’s original building line and thwarted plans to create a four-lane thoroughfare on this site. Today, the house serves as a venue for literary and cultural activities.
Barricades on Nieuwmarkt
The decision not to build a wide road in place of the tenement houses did not end the struggle over the houses along the metro route. During clashes on 24 March and 8 April 1975, the police removed protesters from the occupied buildings. There were barricades, water cannons, tear gas and dozens of people injured. Those events went down in history as the Nieuwmarktrellen – the Nieuwmarkt Riots. The protesters failed to stop the construction of the metro or most of the demolitions. However, they did influence the future of the neighbourhood. Residential buildings were erected above the underground railway tunnel instead of a wide road, and the new buildings were situated with greater respect for the layout of the old streets. The dispute became a milestone in the discourse on the protection of Amsterdam’s historical heritage.
The Last House on Jodenhouttuinen
Only one house has survived on Jodenbreestraat. De Sluyswacht, the former residence of the lock keeper dating from the late 17th century, is now a café and pub. Over the course of its centuries-long history, it also housed the Gosler family’s metal trading business. Abraham Gosler was murdered in Auschwitz in 1942, and the building stood empty and boarded up for years afterwards. It was spared during the mass demolitions and restored in 1981. Today, this small house gives an idea of the scale of the buildings that have since been replaced by much larger structures.
photo: Mateusz Markowski / WhiteMAD
Amsterdam has saved some buildings
On Sint Antoniesbreestraat, the townhouses at numbers 64–66 and 68–72 have survived. The first, associated with the family of the painter David Vinckboons, has a Rococo façade bearing the date 1780. The second is distinguished by its bell-shaped gable and decorative oval windows. It is not known exactly why these particular houses survived. The Zuiderkerkhofpoortje, however – the former gate to the cemetery situated opposite Huis de Pinto – met a different fate. Its construction is attributed to Nicholas Stone. The structure, featuring carved skulls, bones and a coffin, survived the turmoil associated with the area’s major transformations by being converted into… a municipal warehouse. It was dismantled as early as 1944, but did not return to the vicinity of its original site until 1985 – by which time it found itself in a completely new neighbourhood.
Nieuwmarkt station bears the scars of its past
Nieuwmarkt metro station opened in 1980. The underground space was given an extraordinary design that tells the story of the neighbourhood’s destruction. The most striking feature is Jan Sierhuis’s ‘Slopersbal’ – a huge demolition ball suspended by a chain next to a crumbling brick wall. In the opening below, a black-and-white photograph of police officers observing the demolition has been placed. Passengers on the train feel as though they are looking out from inside a house being demolished. Meanwhile, Louisa van Gasteren’s installation ‘Wortels van de stad’ by Louis van Gasteren uses wooden piles reflecting Amsterdam’s famous foundations, steel beams and a fence bearing the slogan ‘Wij blijven hier wonen’, which can be translated as ‘We will continue to live here’. Bert Griepink, meanwhile, has incorporated motifs of damaged walls, fences, photographs and protest posters.
‘Groeten uit de Nieuwmarkt’ juxtaposes photo collages with cracked mirrors. It features reproductions of Rembrandt’s paintings, scenes of everyday life under occupation and a police charge. Commissioned by the city, this body of work was created in consultation with local residents. The station has thus become an ironic memorial to the costs of its own construction.
What was built in place of the tenement blocks?
In 1971, a huge retail and office complex designed by Piet Zanstra was erected on Jodenbreestraat; it was known as the Maupoleum, named after the investor, Maupa Caransa. Widely criticised, it was demolished as early as 1994. It was replaced by buildings housing retail premises and the premises of an art college. The former street of charming little houses and small businesses was thus redeveloped twice within a few decades. On the site of the former Vlooienburg district, the Stopera, designed by Wilhelm Holzbauer and Cees Dam, was built. The theatre opened in 1986, and the town hall began operating there two years later. To make way for this vast complex, entire streets were demolished, including Lange Houtstraat and Korte Houtstraat. In the Nieuwmarkt area, new flats were built along the former streets; Theo Bosch’s ‘Pentagon’ is a prime example of this.
Photo: Mateusz Markowski / WhiteMAD
Does Amsterdam regret it?
The most painful loss for the city was the removal of entire clusters of houses, courtyards and small premises, which cannot be replaced by individual surviving buildings. The Holocaust deprived the district of most of its Jewish residents, whilst subsequent demolitions erased numerous physical traces of their everyday lives. Although the bustle of the streets has not ceased for good, some of the narrow streets have ceased to exist, and larger, uniform façades have replaced the historic rhythm of gables, entrances, small shops and workshops. What the world came to love about Amsterdam has vanished.
It is safe to say that a restored Jodenbuurt would today be of immense value to tourism and education, yet the scale of this lost opportunity is impossible to quantify. Municipal publications openly criticise the scale of the demolitions at the time, and the protests are described as a turning point in public awareness regarding the protection of historic buildings. The metro is an important and necessary means of transport, especially in such densely built-up areas. However, the notion that a well-functioning city requires the sacrifice of its heritage is rejected.
Source: amsterdam.nl, msandberg.nl, dymphverdiesen.nl, stadsherstel.nl, iamsterdam.com
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Amsterdam city centre in 1926 and a similar view today. Photos: amsterdam.nl and Google Earth (images enhanced using AI)
The Nieuwmarkt area in 1926 and today. Photos: amsterdam.nl and Google Earth (images enhanced using AI)
Sint Antoniesbreestraat in the early 20th century and today. Photos: amsterdam.nl and Google Maps
Jodenbreestraat at the turn of the century and today. Photos: Amsterdam City Archives and Google Maps
Sint Antoniesbreestraat in 1919 and 2026. Photos: beeldbank.amsterdam.nl and Mateusz Markowski/WhiteMAD
Sint Antoniesbreestraat before the demolitions and today. Photo: amsterdam.nl and Google Maps
Huis De Pinto on Sint Antoniesbreestraat – 1934 and 2008. Photos: stadsherstel.nl and Google Maps
The tenement blocks at numbers 64–66 and 68–72 on Sint Antoniesbreestraat – 1956 and 2022. Photos: joodsamsterdam.nl and Google Maps
