- Rokin
|
-|
-|Rokin is a major street inAmsterdam , theNetherlands . Originally it was part of the riverAmstel , and was known then as "Rak-in" (a "rak" is an old Dutch word for a straight body of water). When the quays along the "Rokin" were constructed in 1913, they were named after the water which they adjoined.The Rokin begins at Muntplein square and ends at Dam square. In 1936, the part between Spui square and Dam square was filled in. On the remaining part of the water, canal boats are now moored.
During the on-going construction of the North-South line, a new metro line,
archeologist s will dig down to a depth of approximately 20 meters on the Rokin. The archeological finds in what used to be theAmstel river are expected to shed new light on thehistory of Amsterdam and on the landscape and environment of the area in the millennia that preceded the founding of the city.The Mirakelkolom, which normally stands on the Rokin, has been temporarily removed during the construction of the metro line. The Mirakelkolom is a stone column made up of remnants of the
Heilige Stede (Nieuwezijds Kapel), a chapel built to commemorate the 1345 "Mirakel van Amsterdam" (Miracle of the Host). The chapel was demolished in 1908.Amsterdam's first
commodities exchange was built in 1608-1609 at the corner of the Rokin andDam Square . The commodities exchange, designed byHendrick de Keyser , played a key part in the economic success of the city during theDutch Golden Age . The building was demolished in 1835.Notable buildings
* Arti et Amicitiae, an artists' society and
art gallery at the corner of Rokin andSpui , constructed in 1841 and designed in part by Berlage.
* The former offices of The Marine Insurance Company Limited at Rokin 69, aJugendstil building from 1901 designed byGerrit van Arkel .
*Tobacco shop Hajenius at Rokin 92-96, royal purveyor of cigars and other tobacco goods since 1826. Both the building from 1914 and the richly decorated interior were designed by the brothers van Gendt, sons of the prominent 19th century architectAdolf Leonard van Gendt .
* TheAllard Pierson Museum for antiquities, on theOude Turfmarkt , in the former headquarters of the Nederlandsche Bank, the Dutch central bank.
* Magazijn De Gouden Bril, the oldest remainingoptician on the Netherlands, at Rokin 72. There is a statue of amonkey withbinoculars on the rooftop.
* The house of Pieter Janszoon Sweelinck, son of composer and organ playerJan Pieterszoon Sweelinck , at Rokin 145, built in 1642/1643 under the direction ofPhilip Vingboons , with a splendid example of a raised neck-gable at the top of the building.
* Hotel de l'Europe, at the corner ofNieuwe Doelenstraat and Rokin, an imposing building from 1895/96.Transport
Construction is in progress on the Rokin metro station on the North-South line (No. 52) of the
Amsterdam Metro .Rokin is served by
tram lines 4, 9, 14, 16, 24 & 25.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.