The Jordaan is a district of the city of Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

 in the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

. The area is bordered by the Lijnbaansgracht canal to the west, the Prinsengracht to the east, the Brouwersgracht to the north and the Leidsegracht to the south. The former canal Rozengracht (now filled in) is the main traffic artery through the neighbourhood.

Originally a working-class neighbourhood, the Jordaan has become one of the most expensive, upscale locations in the Netherlands. It is home to many art galleries, particularly for modern art, and is also dotted with speciality shops and restaurants. Markets are held regularly at Noordermarkt

Noordermarkt

The Noordermarkt is a square in the Jordaan neighborhood of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.The square is lined by cafés and restaurants. Markets are held on the square every Monday. On Saturdays, a popular organic farmer's market is held on the square...

, the Westerstraat (the Lapjesmarkt textile market) and Lindengracht.

Rembrandt spent the last years of his life in the Jordaan, on the Rozengracht canal. He was buried in the Westerkerk

Westerkerk

The Westerkerk is a church of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands denomination in Amsterdam, built in 1620-1631 after a design by Hendrick de Keyser. It is next to Amsterdam's Jordaan district, on the bank of the Prinsengracht canal....

 church, at the corner of Rozengracht and Prinsengracht, just beyond the Jordaan. The Anne Frank House

Anne Frank House

The Anne Frank House on Prinsengracht canal in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is a museum dedicated to Jewish wartime diarist Anne Frank, who hid from Nazi persecution with her family and four other people in hidden rooms at the rear of the building...

, where Anne Frank

Anne Frank

Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary has become one of the world's most widely read books, and has been the basis for several plays and films.Born in the city of Frankfurt...

 went into hiding during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, is located on the edge of the Jordaan, on the Prinsengracht canal.

Origin of the name

The most common theory on the origin of the name is as a derivation of the French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 word jardin, meaning garden

Garden

A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...

: 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.

Buildings

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.

History

Construction of the Jordaan began in 1612, when it was called Het Nieuwe Werck (The New Work). The streets and canals where built according to the old ditches and paths, which explains its unusual orientation compared to the rest of the city. In the 19th century, six of the Jordaan's canals were filled in, including the Rozengracht.

The neighbourhood was traditionally a leftwing stronghold, with a stormy history. Heavy riots broke out in 1835, 1886, 1917 and 1934. The February strike

February strike

The 1941 February Strike, also known as 'The Strike of February 1941', was a general strike organized during World War II in the Netherlands against the anti-Jewish measures and activities of the Nazis. Its direct causes were the pogroms held by the Germans in the Jewish neighbourhood of Amsterdam....

 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

Johnny Jordaan

Johnny Jordaan was the pseudonym for Johannes Hendricus van Musscher a Dutch folk singer. He was well known for his songs about the city of Amsterdam, especially the Jordaan district....

, 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.

Starting in the 1960s, many of the neighbourhood's original working-class residents moved out of the city to more affordable locations, mainly to Almere

Almere

Almere is a planned city and municipality in the province of Flevoland, the Netherlands, bordering Lelystad and Zeewolde. The municipality of Almere comprises the districts Almere Stad, Almere Haven, Almere Buiten, Almere Hout, Almere Poort and Almere Pampus .Almere is the youngest city in the...

 and Purmerend

Purmerend

Purmerend is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.The city is surrounded by polders, such as the Purmer, Beemster and the Wormer. The city became the trade center of the region but the population grew relatively slow. Only after 1960 did the population...

.

External links

• Jordaan INFO