The Spui (. In Old Dutch written as ''Spuy'') is a square in the centre 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 ...

, the capital of 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 ...

. The Spui was originally a body of water that formed the southern limit of the city until the 1420s, when the Singel canal was dug as an outer moat around the city. A spui is a lockable water discharge. The word is related to the Dutch verbs ''spuiten'' and ''spuwen'',

cognates In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the soun ...

of the English word ''spewing''. Spui could therefore be translated as ''Spew''. In 1882 the Spui was filled in and became the square that we know today. In 1996 the square was renovated and is now largely car-free. The Spui is hosts a weekly book market on Fridays and a variety of bookstores on or near the square, including two shops dedicated to English-language literature (the American Book Center relocated to the Spui in October 2006). There is also a weekly Sunday art market. The Spui provides entry to the Begijnhof, a medieval courtyard.

Tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

lines 1 and 2 stop at Spui on Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal and tram lines 4, 14 and 24 and stop at the southern entrance of the Rokin metro station located just across Spui.

Works of art

A small statue, ''Het Lieverdje'' ("The Little Darling"), stands on the square. The statue represents the youth of Amsterdam, always playing pranks yet with a heart of gold. He was a gift to the city from a cigarette company in 1960. In the 1960s, the Provo counterculture movement held weekly gatherings around the statue. Also located at the Spui is the work of Lawrence Weiner, ''Een vertaling van de ene taal in de andere (A Translation from one language to another)'', three pairs of two stones placed against each other, located at different places of the square. Each pair presents the sentence in Dutch on one side, and on the other side in English,

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and Surinaams respectively.

Notable buildings

* The Maagdenhuis (1780), the headquarters of the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

. * Arti et Amicitiae (1841), an artists' society and art gallery at the corner of Rokin and Spui, designed in part by Berlage. * Gebouw Helios (1895–96) at Spui 15-19, in

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

style. The design by Gerrit van Arkel won third prize in the architects' competition at the 1900

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Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. * The Oude Lutherse Kerk (1632–1633), the Old Lutheran Church, across the Singel canal. * Spui 10 (1891-1892), a former department store building built in eclectic style designed by Eduard Cuypers File:Gerrit Lamberts (1776-1850), Afb 010097001590.jpg, Spui in 1817 by Gerrit Lamberts (1776-1850) Image:Spui 5.jpg Image:Lieverdje_Amsterdam.jpg, The statue ''Het Lieverdje'' Image:Amsterdam_Lawrence_Weiner_Translation.jpg, The English/Dutch piece of ''Een vertaling van de ene taal in de andere'' Image:Spui_helios.jpg, The Helios building Image:Spui-district-Amsterdam-Summer-2013.JPG, Spui in the centre of Amsterdam, summer 2013 Image:RM518462 Spui 10.jpg, Spui 10

References

{{Former canals of Amsterdam Squares in Amsterdam Former canals in Amsterdam