The Schreierstoren (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

incorrectly translated as: ''Weeper's Tower'' or ''Tower of Tears''), originally part of the medieval city wall of

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, was built in the 15th century. It is located at the

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94 in the city center of Amsterdam. It was the location from which

Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the Northeastern United States. In 1607 and 16 ...

set sail on his journey to

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. This expedition would lead to the discovery of the modern

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, which laid the foundation for Dutch colonization of the region. It was built as a

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tower in 1487. It is currently a

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and nautical bookstore.

Etymology

The name in

Old Dutch In linguistics, Old Dutch ( Modern Dutch: ') or Old Low Franconian (Modern Dutch: ') is the set of dialects that evolved from Frankish spoken in the Low Countries during the Early Middle Ages, from around the 6th Page 55: "''Uit de zesde eeu ...

was 'Schreyhoeckstoren' (''schrey'' = sharp, ''hoeck'' = angle, ''toren'' = tower) referring to the sharp angle the tower makes in the once-connected city walls. Later the name began to be shortened to the Schreierstoren. Schreierstoren is incorrectly known for the fact that women wept there for their husbands, who would leave from that port, to go to war, the colonies or to fish. Most of the weeping that was done was for the fishermen who left from that port. However, this is an incorrect myth based on the confusion of the similarities of the Old Dutch word ''schrey'' meaning “sharp” and the Dutch word ''schreien'' meaning “weeping”. This confusion was further supported by the “memory tablet” in the tower, dating back to 1569, which “commemorates” a woman who was so “heart-grieved” at the departure of her husband, that she went insane. Another factor that lead to the confusion was the fact that the old city wall is demolished and the tower does not make a visible sharp corner anymore.

Gallery

File:Schreiers2.jpg, The Schreierstoren as seen from the

Oosterdok The Oosterdok ('Eastern Dock') is a former Dock (maritime), wet dock in Amsterdam. It was created in 1831–1832 by constructing the Oosterdoksdam and the Oosterdoksluis, forming a reliable deep port closed off from the tidal IJ (Amsterdam), IJ. ...

with in the background the Oude Kerkstoren. File:Schreierstoren 7329.jpg, Schreierstoren. File:Schreierstoren.jpg, Schreierstoren at dusk. File:SchreierstorenAmsterdamDusk.jpg, Schreierstoren at dusk close-up. File:Willem Koekkoek Schreierstoren.jpg, Scheierstoren in the 19th century, by Willem Koekkoek. File:07-31-1965 20115 Schreierstoren (4074345087).jpg, Schreierstoren in 1965. File:Den Haag - Madurodam Schreierstoren Amsterdam.jpg, Miniature version of the Schreierstoren in

Madurodam Madurodam () is a miniature park and tourist attraction in the Scheveningen district of The Hague in the Netherlands. It is home to a range of 1:25 scale model replicas of famous Dutch landmarks, historical cities and large developments. The par ...

(

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

). File:Schreierstoren Henry Hudson.JPG, Memory tablet of the

expedition. File:Schreierstoren gevelsteen.JPG, Above the street name sign 'Prins Hendrikkade' is a tablet with the old name: 'Scrayer-Houck'. File:Tribune Tower Brick and Rock Collection, Chicago, Illinois (11004348144) (Schreierstoren).jpg, A brick of the Schreierstoren embedded in the

Tribune Tower The Tribune Tower is a , 36-floor Gothic Revival architecture, neo-Gothic skyscraper located at 435 Magnificent Mile, North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The early 1920s international design competition for the tower bec ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

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References

External links

Schreierstoren
Rijksmonuments in Amsterdam Towers in Amsterdam Military history of Amsterdam {{Netherlands-struct-stub