Jordaan

The Jordaan is a district of the city of Amsterdam in The Netherlands.

The Anne Frank House, where Anne Frank went into hiding during World War II, is located on the edge of the Jordaan, on the Prinsengracht canal. Rembrandt spent the last years of his life in the Jordaan, on the Rozengracht canal. He was buried in the Westerkerk church, at the corner of Rozengracht and Prinsengracht, just beyond the Jordaan.

The Jordaan is home to many art galleries, particularly for modern art. The neighbourhood is also dotted with speciality shops and restaurants, and markets are held regularly at Noordermarkt, the Westerstraat (the Lapjesmarkt textile market) and Lindengracht.

The most common theory on the origin of the name is as a derivation of the French word "jardin", meaning garden. Most streets and canals in the Jordaan are named after trees and flowers. Another theory is that the Prinsengracht canal was once nicknamed Jordaan (the Dutch name for the river Jordan), and that the neighbourhood beyond the canal came to be called this as well.

Built in the first half of the 17th century to house the working class, the Jordaan is now one of the most expensive, upscale locations in the Netherlands. The neighbourhood has become "yuppified" as many of the neighbourhood's original working-class residents have moved out of the city to more affordable locations in recent decades, mainly to Almere and Purmerend.

Construction of the Jordaan began in 1612. The streets and canals where build according to the old ditches and paths. In the 19th century, six of the Jordaan's canals were filled in, including the Rozengracht, which is now the main traffic artery through the neighbourhood. Tram lines 13, 14, and 17 run through this street.

The neighbourhood was traditionally a leftwing stronghold, with a stormy history. Heavy riots broke out in 1835, 1886, 1917 and 1934. The February strike of 1941 started with meetings on Noordermarkt square.

The Jordaan had a lively music scene in the 20th century. Several of the most popular musicians, including singer Johnny Jordaan, now have a statue in their memory at the corner of Prinsengracht and Elandsgracht. The Jordaanfestival, celebrating the neighbourhood's music tradition, is held annually.

The Jordaan has a high concentration of "hofjes" (inner courtyards), many of them with restored houses and peaceful gardens. These courtyards were built by rich people for elderly women, as a kind of charity. By the 1970s most of these courtyards were in very bad shape, like the rest of the neighbourhood. Since then, many have been restored and are now inhabited mainly by artists, students and some elderly people. During the summer some of these yards are opened on Sundays during free concerts known as "hofjesconcerten".

Many houses in the Jordaan have a stone tablet on their facade, a stone sign displaying the profession or family sign of the inhabitants. For instance a butcher displayed a pig and a tailor a pair of scissors, carved in stone above the entry. The first such stone tablets were made in the 16th century, when citizens were ordered to use these tablets instead of big wooden gables that obstructed the traffic in the narrow streets.

External links

* [http://www.jordaanweb.com Jordaan WEB] (courtyards and stone tablets in the Jordaan)
* [http://www.hotels-compare.com/amsterdam/jordaan/ Jordaan information do's and don'ts]
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* [http://www.jordaaninfo.nl Jordaan INFO]