Jordaan, Amsterdam

Jordaan is a neighbourhood in Amsterdam, shaped by canals, narrow streets, and a history that reaches from working-class life to luxury. Its boundaries are the Singelgracht, Prinsengracht, Brouwersgracht, and Leidsegracht, while the filled-in Rozengracht carries traffic through the area. The street plan follows older ditches and paths, so its lines do not align neatly with the grander canal belt nearby.

Construction began in 1612, when the district was known as Het Nieuwe Werck. Look at the façades around you for stone signs above doorways: these once showed an occupant’s trade or family emblem, such as a pig for a butcher or scissors for a tailor. Hidden behind the street fronts are hofjes, inner courtyards created by wealthy benefactors for elderly women.

Many have since been restored and are now associated with artists, students, and older residents. The neighbourhood also carries a record of conflict. Riots broke out in 1835, 1886, 1917, and 1934, and the 1941 February strike began with meetings at Noordermarkt.

Today, galleries, speciality shops, restaurants, and regular markets animate the area. Rembrandt spent his final years here, and Westerkerk, where he was buried, stands just beyond the neighbourhood.