Spui

The current Spui square was originally a body of water until it was filled in around 1882. Many interesting buildings can be seen there and it also has the entrance to the Begijn­hof, an enclosed court­yard dating from the early 14th century. Until 1425 this was the southern border of Amsterdam, below it the polder with farms. The water levels in Amsterdam and in the southern polder were quite different, so sluices were created to manage the flow. Spui literally means sluice or drain (think spew).

Spui square deserted in COVID-times, seen towards the Singel (January 2021). On the left the Old Lutherian Church from 1630, on the right the Atheneum book­store (Spui 14-16). Straight ahead Café Luxembourg and Café Hoppe from 1670.

Farmer’s Grief & Oxen Sluice

Amsterdam kept its water level more or less equal (Amsterdams Peil) to the water of the IJ which still had an open connection to the North Sea, but the polder water level was different. Where the waterway went from Singel to Spui, there was a sluice called Boeren­verdriet (Farmer’s Grief), called thus because the farmers — arriving in the city with their produce — had to put up with a lot of wating before their boats could finally pass the narrow sluice one by one.

Where the Spui exited into the Rokin there was a second sluice called Osjes­sluis (Oxen Sluice), near the Kalver­straat. This was a flood­gate (a sluice which can close on one side, to regulate the water level) with a high stone bridge above it. On top of the bridge stood a tax house for the oxen market.

Spui as water in 1625, marked in red (detail from a map by Balthasar Florisz van Bercken­rode). The water had two sluices: at the side of the Singel the sluice Boeren­verdriet, at the side of the Rokin the Osjes­sluis.

The Osjes­brug (Oxen Bridge) above the Osjes­sluis was named after the oxen market which took place there, from Kalver­straat (Calf Street) to Munt­plein. In 1958, when the sewer system around the Spui was renewed, remnants of the bridge walls surfaced. They were destroyed for the new sewers, but they still lie beneath the pavement of the Spui there.

Spui in the winter (between 1655-1675), looking towards the Nieuwe­zijds Voorburg­wal (both of them would be filled in later).
Painting by Jan van Kessel.

To the Beach by Tram

From 1904 until 1957 there was an electric tram service between the Spui and Haarlem and the Zandvoort beach resort by the North Sea, nick­named the Frog because of the wagon’s green colour. The end point of the line was on the Spui until 1914. From 1914 until 1957 the end point was near the Spui­straat.

Spui with the electric tram De Kikker (the Frog) between Amsterdam and Haarlem, 1905.

The Current Square

The Spui was re­designed in 1996 to be nearly car-free. The southern part of the square has famous bars like grand-café Luxembourg and café Hoppe (from 1670). In front of the Atheneum book­store the statue Het Lieverdje from 1960, where from 1964 the Provo movement staged so-called happenings. Before the COVID lockdowns there was a weekly book market on Fridays and (from March to December) an art market on Sundays.

The red brick house with the passageway to the Begijn­hof at the Spui (January 2021).

Buildings

• At the corner of Spui and Singel the Old Lutherian Church from 1632
• At Spui 21, between Handboog­straat and Voetboog­straat, the Maagden­huis (Virgins House) dating from 1783-1787, now the administrative centre of the University of Amsterdam (UvA)
• Right across, the building with the gate to the Begijn­hof
• Helios building from 1900, Spui 15-19
• Former music store Hampe from 1842 at number 11, now Hampe-Prinz
• Shop building Mercurius, corner Kalver­straat 152 and Spui 7, from around 1885
• At the eastern end of the Spui, corner with Rokin, artists’ society and art gallery Arti et Amicitiae
• Centrally on the Spui the square shop building at number 10, from 1891-1892

Shop building Mercurius, corner Kalver­straat 152 and Spui 7, designed around 1885 by architects H.P. Berlage en Th. Sanders.

The Downside of Maintenance

Spui seen towards the Spui­straat, to the right the Atheneum book­store, tram track maintenance (February 2021).

Spui seen towards the Singel, straight ahead the Krijt­berg church, tram track maintenance (February 2021).