Amsterdam (Rough Guide) - Martin Dunford [77]
In 1983 Freddy was kidnapped by three masked men and held for three weeks, before the police finally rescued him. Thereafter, he withdrew from the public eye, but maintained close relations with many of the country’s richest and most powerful citizens until his death.
The outer districts | The Oud Zuid |
Albert Cuypstraat and the Sarphatipark
Running south from the Heineken Experience, Ferdinand Bolstraat is De Pijp’s main drag, but the long, slim, east–west thoroughfare of Albert Cuypstraat (pronouced “cowp-straat”) is its heart. The general market held here – which stretches for over 1km between Ferdinand Bolstraat and Van Woustraat – is the largest in the city (in fact it claims to be the largest in Europe), with a huge range of stalls selling everything from cut-price carrots and raw herring sandwiches to saucepans and Day-Glo thongs. The market is open every day except Sunday, 10am until 5pm. Check out, too, the shops flanking the market on both sides, as they’re often cheaper than their equivalents in the city centre.
A couple of blocks south of the Albert Cuypstraat market is the leafy Sarphatipark, a welcome splash of greenery amongst the surrounding brick and concrete. The park, complete with footpaths and a slender lake, was laid out before the construction of De Pijp got under way, initially intended as a place for the bourgeoisie to stroll.
Heading east from the Sarphatipark, the main Ceintuurbaan artery crosses Van Woustraat, a long, if unremarkable shopping street that stretches south to the Amstelkanaal with the Nieuw Zuid beckoning just beyond. Turn right along the northern side of the Amstel canal for De Dageraad; tram #4 runs the length of Van Woustraat.
The outer districts | The Oud Zuid |
De Dageraad
Best approached along Jozef Israelskade, which runs along the north side of the Amstelkanaal, the De Dageraad housing project is a superb and immaculately maintained example of the work of Michael de Klerk and Piet Kramer. Built between 1919 and 1922 on behalf of the ANDB, the Diamond Workers Union, this was – indeed is – public housing inspired by socialist utopianism, a grand vision built to elevate (and educate) the working class, hence its name – “The Dawn”. Overlooking the canal, the handsome brick and stone work of the Berlage Lyceum marks the start of De Dageraad with 350 workers’ houses stretching beyond to either side of Pieter Lodewijk Takstraat and Burgemeester Tellegenstraat. The architects used a reinforced concrete frame as an underlay to each house, thus permitting folds, tucks and curves in the brick exteriors – a technique known as “apron architecture” (Schortjesarchitectuur). Strong, angular doors, sloping roofs and turrets punctuate the facades and you’ll find a corner tower at the end of every block – it’s simply stunning.
From Centraal Station tram #4 runs along Van Woustraat; get off at Jozef Israelskade and it’s a five-minute walk to De Dageraad. To get to Apollolaan in the Nieuw Zuid from De Dageraad, walk south across the canal to Churchilllaan and take tram #12 or #25 west to Ferdinand Bolstraat and walk the remaining 500m.
The outer districts |
The Nieuw Zuid
Beyond De Pijp and the Oud Zuid lies the Nieuw Zuid (New South), which runs south from the Amstel and Noorder Amstel canals as far as the railway tracks and west from the River Amstel to the old Olympic stadium. By contrast with most of the Oud Zuid, this was the first properly planned extension to the city since the concentric canals of the seventeenth century. The Dutch architect Hendrik Petrus Berlage (1856–1934) was responsible for the grand overall plan, but after his death much of the implementation passed to a pair of prominent architects of the Amsterdam School, Michael de Klerk (1884–1923) and Piet Kramer (1881–1961), who added a playfulness to the scheme – turrets