De Pijp
Encyclopedia
De Pijp is a neighborhood of Amsterdam
, Netherlands
.
The Pijp is located directly south of Amsterdam's city centre and it is part of the borough 'Amsterdam-Zuid
'. Most street names in the Pijp are named after Dutch painters, like Jan Steen
, Frans Hals
, Ruysdael and Vincent van Gogh
.
The most famous and busiest street market of the Netherlands, the Albert Cuyp Market
, is in the Pijp. It is open six days per week and attracts a lot of tourists. The former Heineken
brewery is also a popular tourist attraction. Next to the former Heineken brewery is the Marie Heinekenplein
, which has a lot of bars and cafes, as well as the near Gerard Douplein. Along the canal 'Ruysdaelkade' there is a small red light area.
The Pijp has a very diverse population, with a lot of yuppie
s as well as foreign immigrants (43% of the population is foreign, most of whom are non-western immigrants) and students. Famous Dutch people who have lived in the Pijp include painter Piet Mondriaan, folk singer André Hazes
and actress Carice van Houten.
the young city engineer Van Niftrik made an idealistic plan (1866) for a full-scale expansion belt in the polder area along the edge of Amsterdam, where the Pijp (then called away YY), a beautiful new center, would be built. The plan included the construction of the Amsterdam Central Station in the middle of the Pijp, on the current location of the Sarphati park, with a modern railway along the Ceintuurbaan. North of the track there would be large apartment blocks and wide streets, and on the south a villa area with green and wide avenues, in a star pattern. Plan YY had a grandeur that could equal that of the new districts of Paris
and Vienna
. However, the council rejected the plan.
A new plan was drafted by Kalff, the director of the Public Works department (Plan-Kalff, 1876). The only thing he maintained from the old plan was the raising of the polder area with about five feet for the drainage and sewage. He refrained from regrouping, so that the street pattern was a copy of the old polder lock pattern. It was all built as quickly as possible, using the cheapest materials (jerry-building). No villas were built. The Pijp became an area of long streets with a typical street wall image: generally four stories with a canopy, the height staggered between the plots, each piece topped with a white roof with a cap and lifting bar, and each house is three windows wide.
The southern part of the Pijp, including the Diamantbuurt
(Diamond neighborhood) was built some years later, around 1925. This area was designed according to the Amsterdam School
style of architecture.
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
The Pijp is located directly south of Amsterdam's city centre and it is part of the borough 'Amsterdam-Zuid
Amsterdam-Zuid
Amsterdam-Zuid is a stadsdeel of Amsterdam, Netherlands. This borough was formed in 2010 as a merge of the former boroughs Oud-Zuid and Zuideramstel. The borough has 133,810 inhabitants and it has the highest income per household of all boroughs in Amsterdam.-Notes:...
'. Most street names in the Pijp are named after Dutch painters, like Jan Steen
Jan Steen
Jan Havickszoon Steen was a Dutch genre painter of the 17th century . Psychological insight, sense of humour and abundance of colour are marks of his trade.-Life:...
, Frans Hals
Frans Hals
Frans Hals was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He is notable for his loose painterly brushwork, and helped introduce this lively style of painting into Dutch art. Hals was also instrumental in the evolution of 17th century group portraiture.-Biography:Hals was born in 1580 or 1581, in Antwerp...
, Ruysdael and Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
.
The most famous and busiest street market of the Netherlands, the Albert Cuyp Market
Albert Cuyp Market
The Albert Cuyp Market is a street market in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, on the Albert Cuypstraat between Ferdinand Bolstraat and Van Woustraat, in the De Pijp area of the Oud-Zuid district of the city. The street and market are named for Albert Cuyp, a 17th century painter.The market began as an...
, is in the Pijp. It is open six days per week and attracts a lot of tourists. The former Heineken
Heineken
Heineken is a Dutch beer which has been brewed by Heineken International since 1873. It is available in a 4.6% alcohol variety in countries such as Ireland. It is the flagship product of the Heineken company and is made of purified water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. In 1886 H...
brewery is also a popular tourist attraction. Next to the former Heineken brewery is the Marie Heinekenplein
Marie Heinekenplein
The Marie Heinekenplein is a square in Amsterdam, popularly known as Heinekenplein. The circle-shaped square is used for various events, such as a book market and an open-air cinema....
, which has a lot of bars and cafes, as well as the near Gerard Douplein. Along the canal 'Ruysdaelkade' there is a small red light area.
The Pijp has a very diverse population, with a lot of yuppie
Yuppie
Yuppie is a term that refers to a member of the upper middle class or upper class in their 20s or 30s. It first came into use in the early-1980s and largely faded from American popular culture in the late-1980s, due to the 1987 stock market crash and the early 1990s recession...
s as well as foreign immigrants (43% of the population is foreign, most of whom are non-western immigrants) and students. Famous Dutch people who have lived in the Pijp include painter Piet Mondriaan, folk singer André Hazes
André Hazes
André Gerardus Hazes was a Dutch singer in a genre called levenslied which is a form of emotional folk music about everyday life sung in the Dutch language. André Hazes was one of the most successful singers in this genre...
and actress Carice van Houten.
Planning and construction
The Pijp is now regarded as an example of 19th century revolution-build, cheap construction, but was once regarded very different. In the second half of the 19th century, urban expansion was necessary because of a fast growing population. In the spirit of SarphatiSamuel Sarphati
Samuel Sarphati was a Dutch physician and Amsterdam city planner.- Biography :Sarphati's ancestors were Portuguese Sephardi Jews who arrived in the Netherlands in the 17th century. While only middle-class, his parents were able to let him attend a Latin school...
the young city engineer Van Niftrik made an idealistic plan (1866) for a full-scale expansion belt in the polder area along the edge of Amsterdam, where the Pijp (then called away YY), a beautiful new center, would be built. The plan included the construction of the Amsterdam Central Station in the middle of the Pijp, on the current location of the Sarphati park, with a modern railway along the Ceintuurbaan. North of the track there would be large apartment blocks and wide streets, and on the south a villa area with green and wide avenues, in a star pattern. Plan YY had a grandeur that could equal that of the new districts of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. However, the council rejected the plan.
A new plan was drafted by Kalff, the director of the Public Works department (Plan-Kalff, 1876). The only thing he maintained from the old plan was the raising of the polder area with about five feet for the drainage and sewage. He refrained from regrouping, so that the street pattern was a copy of the old polder lock pattern. It was all built as quickly as possible, using the cheapest materials (jerry-building). No villas were built. The Pijp became an area of long streets with a typical street wall image: generally four stories with a canopy, the height staggered between the plots, each piece topped with a white roof with a cap and lifting bar, and each house is three windows wide.
The southern part of the Pijp, including the Diamantbuurt
Diamantbuurt (Amsterdam)
The Diamantbuurt is a neighborhood of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was built in the 1930's....
(Diamond neighborhood) was built some years later, around 1925. This area was designed according to the Amsterdam School
Amsterdam School
The Amsterdam School is a style of architecture that arose from 1910 through about 1930 in The Netherlands...
style of architecture.