I went to town just after 9AM today to meet Marjolein for her uni-day 2012. The university she studied at organizes this day every year. There is a guided tour through town in the morning, interesting lectures in the afternoon and a classical concert in the evening.
The weather was fantastic for walking around town and I took some great pictures. This was while walking to the meeting point. The building at the end is "De Waag" at the Nieuwmarkt.
This is the "Noorderkerk". The views in the old town are really fantastic.
We did a tour that would take us past a few places that hold an important place in Amsterdam Jewish history. The lady in the middle was our tour guide. There were about 6 groups like ours.
Late 16th century, a few spanish and portuguese jews lived in Amsterdam. Around the year 1600 a rabbi and a dozen or so other jews from Emden (DE) arrived at the tower in the above picture (Montelbaanstoren). They came to Amsterdam because it was one of the very few places in Europe where they were kind of free to practice their religion. They were at the time not allowed have a synagogue though and they were not allowed to do most common jobs. They were however allowed to trade goods and to work in the diamond trade.
Due to the jew-friendly climate in Amsterdam, more jews kept arriving and their numbers grew rapidly. On the Houtgracht (which bordered the island "Vlooienburg" and which was later converted to the square which is now called "Waterlooplein") the first three Jewish congregations were created. One of these in a warehouse in 1618 and 2 others in nearby quarters.
In 1639 the warehouse was enlarged and the three congregations merged together created the very first synagogue of Amsterdam called "Talmud Torah". After construction elsewhere of a much bigger synagogue in 1675 it was renamed to "De Herschepping" as its function changed to a wedding hall. In 1875 its function became a general meeting hall for the poorest of jews and finally in 1931 it was bought and demolished by the city of Amsterdam.
It wasn't until after the second world war that an apartment building was build in its place. The plaque above the door is all that remains of this large chunk of Jewish history...
This is the new (Portugese) synagogue. You can find a bit more info on it by clicking here.
Also in front of the synagogue is the statue "De dokwerker", erected to remember the big strike in February 1941.
I had never been here before. It's a wonderful statue, I like it a lot.
This building was a house to a Jewish family.
They were all deported and murdered during WWII.
After the tour we got lunch on a canal boat. All canal boats take you past this replica of the famous Dutch ship "Amsterdam".
Even though it's a replica, it can actually sail!
Marjolein just before we had to go to our first lecture.
The first lecture was about tourists (and how they got to see the city) in Amsterdam in the 17th century. A historian presented us with old paintings and drawings and explained the off phenomena that could be seen in those days. Very interesting.
The second lecture was about a new process of converting CO2 in to energy. Also quite interesting. The process has been in beta test for a month now and the results are promising.
And then there was free booze!
Outside a pigeon was having a nap.
After dinner we went to the concert of the uni orchestra. They played three pieces. The first one was modern crap and I hated every second of it. The 2nd and 3rd were very nice though.
It was a lovely day :-)
