The 1675 Map 2
The map has a legend and a scale
;
I transcribed the legend in a menu and looked up the coordinates of the
items, so you can zoom in quickly to the places you want to see, e.g. the
Oude Kerk", "Old Church" in the center of today's red quarter
.
Pictures can be put in a separate window, ito be compared with the map,
for example the "Waag" building (weighhouse)
,
originally a gate in the medieval town wall,
or the Town Hall, nowadays Royal Palace
(the picture was taken on Sunday morning, quarter to nine, so there are
slightly less people than usual). This Town Hall was built only a few years
before this map was made, amongst others by the same Daniel Stalpaert who made
this map. It has remained virtually unchanged since then, as can be seen from
an engraving from 1675
.
It was turned into a royal palace by Louis Napoleon, who was king of
Holland for a few years at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
Another location that has not changed much is the Westerkerk ("Western Church").
The first picture
is taken from behind the church,
at the other side of
the Keizersgracht (the middle one of the three canals)
.
The second one is from the other side, from the Jordaan, in
the still existing Bloemstraat leading to the church tower, a typical
Amsterdam backstreet
.
Note the impossible amount of detail of the church
on the original black and white map
:
the original is 2*3 cm.
The third photo is not far from there, at the same side of the Prinsengracht as
the church
.
Where you see people waiting, is the entrance of the Anne Frank House (the
house with the stairs; they were hidden at the upper floors while at the ground
level business went on as usual). She mentions the bells of the Westertoren a
few times in her diary. When zooming in to the block you can see how detailed
the map is
.
Of course these are not the same houses as you see today. However, the
structure of the block (narrow houses around an inner courtyard) is the same,
and probably their boundaries too. You can also see the small buildings in the
inner courtyard
.
In Dutch these are called "Achterhuis", "Back House". Anne
called her diary that way because it has overtones of "hiding place"
.