Zandhoek pic 7 gevelsteen IN DEN GOVDEN REAEL

The Gouden Reael is a traditional designation for an area of the city of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. It consists of the current neighborhood

Westelijke Eilanden Westelijke Eilanden (; "Western Islands") are three islands in the Centrum district of Amsterdam: Bickerseiland, Prinseneiland and Realeneiland. They are located to the south of the IJ and the Zeeheldenbuurt, to the north of the railway line bet ...

("Western Islands", i.e. Prinseneiland, Bickerseiland and Realeneiland) plus the Westerdokseiland, Haarlemmerbuurt and Planciusbuurt. A 'Gouden Reael' (" golden real") was a Spanish coin from the 16th century. The birth house of Laurens Reael (1583–1637), third

Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies The governor-general of the Dutch East Indies (, ) represented Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949. Occupied by Japanese forces between 1942 and 1945, followed by the ...

, had a golden real on its signpost or gable stone, from which the family took its name. In 1648, the Reael family, which counted several prominent Amsterdam citizens, built a warehouse on the ''Zandhoek'', again with a golden real gablestone. Around 1800, this building turned into a popular inn, "De Gouden Reael", which was made famous by a 1940 Jan Mens novel by the same name, and after which the neighborhood has been named. In 1610 and 1615, three artificial islands (Prinseneiland, Bickerseiland and Realeneiland) were built as an extension of the harbor. Until the end of the 19th century this was an area with many wharfs, little industries and warehouses, related to the shipping trades. After the second World war the desolated area was discovered by many artists (

Jan Sierhuis Jan Sierhuis (21 December 1928 – 4 July 2023) was a Dutch expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait ...

Johan van der Keuken Johan van der Keuken (; 4 April 1938 – 7 January 2001) was a Dutch documentary filmmaker, author, and photographer. In a career that spanned 42 years, Van der Keuken produced 55 documentary films, six of which won eight awards. He also wrot ...

, Jef Diederen,

Reinier Lucassen Reinier is the Dutch language, Dutch form of the Germanic name, Germanic masculine given name ''Raginheri'', composed of the two elements ''ragin'' ("advice") and ''heri'' ("army"). It is equivalent to Scandinavian ''Ragnar (disambiguation), Ragnar ...

Peter Schat Peter Ane Schat (5 June 1935 – 3 February 2003) was a Dutch composer. Biography Schat was born on 5 June 1935 in Utrecht. He studied composition with Kees van Baaren (1952–1958) at the Utrecht Conservatoire and Royal Conservatory of The Ha ...

among others), who established their homes and studios in the vacant buildings. During the second half of the 20th century the old warehouses were transformed into apartments one after another, and new apartments were built. Nevertheless, a lot of the atmosphere of the past is still present in the old buildings and wooden drawbridges.

External links

History of the neighborhood
{{coord, 52, 23, 10, N, 4, 53, 16, E, region:NL, display=title Neighbourhoods of Amsterdam