The Oudekerksplein is a square in the centre 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...

. It is named after the 14th-century church Oude Kerk which dominates the square. The Oudekerksplein is wedged between the Warmoesstraat

Warmoesstraat

Warmoesstraat is one of the oldest streets in Amsterdam, running parallel to the river Amstel from Amsterdam Centraal railway station to Dam Square. Its origins are in the 13th century. In the 16th and 17th century it was the shopping street...

 street and Oudezijds Voorburgwal canal. From the square, the Oudekerksburg bridge crosses the Oudezijds Voorburgwal canal and continues eastwards, through the Oudekennissteeg and Molensteeg alleys, towards the Oudezijds Achterburgwal and Zeedijk

Zeedijk

The Zeedijk is a street in the old centre of Amsterdam. The street is located from the Prins Hendrikkade to the Nieuwmarkt. The Zeedijk is the heart of Chinatown, the Chinese neighbourhood of Amsterdam...

.

Originally the Oudekerksplein was a graveyard. In 1655, the graveyard was cleared and moved to a new location beyond the city limits, creating the present square.

The Oudekerksplein lies at the heart of the red-light district

Red-light district

A red-light district is a part of an urban area where there is a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, adult theaters, etc...

 of De Wallen

De Wallen

De Wallen is the largest and best-known red-light district in Amsterdam and a major tourist attraction. It is located in the heart of the oldest part of Amsterdam, covering several blocks south of the church Oude Kerk and crossed by several canals....

. Along the square are some 35 windows from behind which prostitutes offer their services. As part of the so-called Project 1012 (first presented in 2007), the Amsterdam city government is trying to reduce the number of prostitutes on Oudekerksplein. The city wants to remove all brothel

Brothel

Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...

s from the square and replace them with restaurants, shops, artists' workshops, and such. As part of the plans, the coffeeshop

Cannabis coffee shop

Coffeeshops are establishments in the Netherlands where the sale of cannabis for personal consumption by the public is tolerated by the local authorities ....

 on Oudekerksplein would also be closed.

A statue titled "Belle", honouring the prostitutes of the world, was placed on the square in 2007. The plaque on this statue reads (in English): "Respect sex workers all over the world". The street also has a bronze relief of a hand caressing a female breast. The sculpture was set in the cobblestone in February 1993 by an anonymous artist.

The 1968 Dutch documentary film Rondom het Oudekerksplein ("Around the Oudekerksplein") gave an impression of what life in the red-light district was like in the 1960s.