Bullebakssluis & Raampoort

The Bullebakssluis (Bully Lock) is the name of a former lock between Lijn­baans­gracht and Singel­gracht at the far end of Bloem­gracht, named after a water monster which was said to hide here. These days it’s just a bridge on the Marnix­straat, near former police station Raampoort. The Marnix­straat was originally called De Schans (Sconce). It was constructed along the trajectory of the old city wall, which had been gradually demolished between 1820 and 1845.

Bullebakssluis on the Singelgracht side, name on the bridge railing (April 2024).

The Bulle­baks­sluis started as a covered lock under the wall next to the Raam­poort (Frames Gate), through which boats could pass from the Lijn­baans­gracht to the Singel­gracht, back then the outer defense moat. The Bulle­baks­sluis (bridge 160) is often confused with a bridge called Bullebak (bridge 149), which is located further down Marnix­straat and lies across the end of the Brouwers­gracht.

Bullebakssluis viewed from the Bloemgracht (bridge 119) towards the Bureau Raampoort building (August 2023).

The building to the left of the Bullebakssluis (Marnix­straat 307-315) in the image above was a location of the City Pawn Bank (Stadsbank van Lening nr. 7), created in 1886 by architect W. Hamer. In 1939 the building was partly used by the Gemeentelijk Bureau voor Maat­schappe­lijke Steun, a predecessor of the Sociale Dienst (Unemployment Office). The City Pawn Bank here closed in 1944 due to lack of customers.

17th Century City Wall

The 5 m (16.5 ft) high earthen brick-clad city wall had been constructed between 1613 and 1625 (during Amsterdam’s 3rd Extension) and was around 20 m (65.5 ft) wide. On the inside was the Lijn­baans­gracht (Ropewalk Canal), on the outside the 60 m (197 ft) wide Singel­gracht (then simply called Stads­gracht or City Canal). The first Raampoort bridge was located to the south of the lock, later reconstructed north of it. These days it’s a 30 m (98 ft) wide traffic bridge called Raampoort leading to Tweede Hugo de Groot­straat.

Detail of a map from 1625 by Balthasar Florisz van Berckenrode (SSW on top). Under the lens the Bullebakssluis. Note the ropewalks along Lijn­baans­gracht and the location of the first Raampoort bridge (map original in the Rijks­museum).

Until they were demolished in 1844 together with the remnant of the city wall here, the Raampoort (for pedestrians) and Bulle­baks­sluis (for boats) were just passages tunneled through that city wall, as you can see in the image below.

Raampoortje and Bullebacksluis in 1809, detail of a painting by Wouter Johannes van Troostwijk (Rijks­museum).

Bullebakssluis

The Bullebakssluis (bridge 160), once an arched bridge on top of the old city wall, is now just a low bridge, designed in 1930 by Piet Kramer, bridge architect of the Amsterdam Public Works Department. If it wasn’t for the small green bridge railings, from above the current wide bridge is hardly recognizable as such, being incorporated into the road surface of Marnixstraat. But the water of the Bloem­gracht and Lijn­baans­gracht still passes under the Bulle­baks­sluis and exits on the Singel­gracht, next to the former police station and the Raampoort bridge.

Straight ahead the Bullebakssluis, seen from Nassaukade in the direction of Bloemgracht (May 2024).

A Lurking Water Monster

The lock here was named after a water monster called Bullebak (Bully). According to a 17th century folk tale the monster hid in the dark water near the tunneled lock, ready to grab Jordaan children who came too close to the water’s edge, to drag them under and devour them. He was said to stir the water and roar, especially during dark nights and storms. Near the far end of the first Raampoort bridge there also was a Bullebackxsloot (Bully Ditch), which later became the Hugo de Grootgracht.

Statue of the Bullebak near bridge 149, looking northwest towards Singelgracht and Nassaukade (April 2024).

In a watery country like the Netherlands, this urban legend about an evil water spirit was widespread and told with fervor, not just in the Jordaan area of Amsterdam, but all over the country. At a time when many did not know how to swim, this must have been been viewed as an effective way to keep at least some of the kids safely away from the water. When the wall and the covered lock were demolished around 1844, the Bullebak was not heard of again, but his legend persisted well into the 20th century.

Bullebak statue viewed through the railing of bridge 149 near Brouwersgracht (April 2024).

When the Bullebak bridge (bridge 149) near Brouwersgracht was renewed in 2019, artist Martie van der Loo obtained a piece of the old bridge and created a statue of the water monster from it. Placed here in 2023, our monster is now quite far away from its original habitat near Bullebakssluis (bridge 160).

Annotated map of the area around Bullebaks­sluis and Raampoort bridge (OpenStreetMap).

Raampoort Gate

The Raampoort (Frames Gate) at the end of Bloemgracht was an auxiliary gate through the defense wall, created around 1632, renewed in 1671 and 1776, demolished in 1844. Like the Zaagmolenpoort (further north near Gieterstraat, from 1630), the Raampoort gate was opened through the wall to accommodate the countless workers from the Jordaan area who worked in the cloth frame fields or in the sawmills outside the city wall, who would otherwise have had to make a long detour via the Haar­lemmer­poort.

Raampoort seen outside the Singelgracht in 1828, on the left windmill De Blom on the bastion (Stads­archief Amsterdam).

The names refer to the cloth industry and the wooden frames which were used to dry and stretch the dyed woolen cloth. The Raampoort and Raambrug gave access to the frames and bleaching fields (Bleekerijen) outside the city wall, moved here in the 17th century from their previous location between Kloveniers­burg­wal and Groen­burg­wal. Many cloth dyers at that time moved to Bloemgracht and Bloemstraat, which back then was called Weversstraat (Weavers Street).

Under the lens Bullebakssluis and Raampoort bridge, detail of a map from 1657 by Johannes Janssonius, after an older map by Joan Blaeu (who lived on Bloemgracht), showing the cloth frames outside Raampoort (map original Stads­archief Amsterdam).

Current Raampoort Bridge

The current Raampoort bridge was created in 1969, part of a horrible city plan from 1931 for a major traffic artery right through the Jordaan (from Spui to Tweede Hugo de Grootstraat). Protests in 1972 stopped that destructive plan, resulting in this rather wide bridge for relatively low traffic.

Raampoort bridge seen from Bullebakssluis on Marnixstraat towards Tweede Hugo de Grootstraat (May 2024).

Bureau Raampoort

Former police station Raampoort at Marnix­straat 148 was built in 1888, designed by architect Willem Springer, a mixture of neoclassical and medieval styles. This police station was created to keep an eye on the growing worker population living on Marnix­straat and in the ever unruly Jordaan area. In 1929 three houses on Marnix­straat were added to the station. The police were here until 2014, when the station moved to Lijn­baans­gracht near Leidseplein. Since 2017 it houses a showroom of Time and Style, a Japanese furniture and design chain.

Former police station Bureau Raampoort on Marnixstraat (August 2023).

Raampoort bridge and Bureau Raampoort seen across Singelgracht from Nassaukade (May 2024).

The small square to the right of Bureau Raampoort, next to the bridge, is also named Bullebaks­sluis, after the old lock. Since 2005 it has the small bronze sculpture New Naatje (Naatje is short for Anna). Created for Amsterdam’s 700th birthday by Hanna Mobach, it first stood on Rokin near Watersteeg. The old Naatje was a monument with a female figure on top, on Dam square from 1856 until 1914. That statue, officially called De Eendracht (Unity), soon derelict, gave birth to the Amsterdam expression “it’s Naatje”, for something of totally worthless quality.

Looking south along Singelgracht from the small square next to Raampoort bridge (May 2024).

Raampoort plaque on the Bullebakssluis wall near Marnixstraat (May 2024).

Raampoort seen from Bullebakssluis (May 2024).