Schreierstoren, Amsterdam

Schreierstoren is a medieval defensive tower that once formed part of Amsterdam’s city wall. Built around 1487, it stands at the meeting of Prins Hendrikkade and Geldersekade, and it is Amsterdam’s sole surviving defensive tower. Its name comes from the sharp turn the former wall made here, not from the popular tale of women crying as sailors departed; that explanation arose from a confusion between similar Dutch words.

A plaque on the tower records Henry Hudson’s departure on 4 April 1609 for the New World, an expedition connected with the beginnings of Dutch colonization around modern New York. The building now combines a café with a shop specialising in nautical charts and books. Look for the commemorative stone above the Prins Hendrikkade entrance: it recalls the 1595 voyage to the East Indies and shows four sailing ships beneath a Latin motto about the necessity of sailing.