Rokin
Encyclopedia
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...
, the 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...
. Originally it was part of the river Amstel
Amstel
The Amstel is a river in the Netherlands which runs through the city of Amsterdam. The river's name is derived from Aeme stelle, old Dutch for "area abounding with water"....
, and was known then as Rak-in (a rak is an old Dutch word for a straight body of water). When the quays along the Rokin were constructed in 1913, they were named after the water which they adjoined.
The Rokin begins at Muntplein
Muntplein (Amsterdam)
The Muntplein is a square in the centre of Amsterdam. The square is in fact a bridge — the widest bridge in Amsterdam — which crosses the Singel canal at the point where it flows into the Amstel river...
square and ends at Dam square
Dam Square
Dam Square, or simply the Dam is a town square in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. Its notable buildings and frequent events make it one of the most well-known and important locations in the city.- Location and description :...
. In 1936, the part between Spui
Spui (Amsterdam)
The Spui is a square in the centre of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 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. In 1882 the Spui was filled in and became the square that we know...
square and Dam square was filled in. On the remaining part of the water, canal boats are now moored.
During the on-going construction of the North-South line, a new metro line, archeologists will dig down to a depth of approximately 20 meters on the Rokin. The archeological finds in what used to be the Amstel
Amstel
The Amstel is a river in the Netherlands which runs through the city of Amsterdam. The river's name is derived from Aeme stelle, old Dutch for "area abounding with water"....
river are expected to shed new light on the history of Amsterdam
History of Amsterdam
Amsterdam has a long and eventful history. The origins of the city lie in the 13th century, when fisherman living along the banks of the River Amstel built a bridge across the waterway near the IJ, then a large saltwater inlet. Wooden doors on the bridge served as a dam; these protected the town...
and on the landscape and environment of the area in the millennia
Millennium
A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....
that preceded the founding of the city.
The Mirakelkolom, which normally stands on the Rokin, has been temporarily removed during the construction of the metro line. The Mirakelkolom is a stone column made up of remnants of the Heilige Stede
Heilige Stede
Nieuwezijds Kapel, or Heilige Stede or Chapel of the Heilige Stede refers to a site in Amsterdam that includes shops and a Dutch Reformed church built in 1908 on the site of a church once called the Heilige Stede, originally built in the 15th century to replace a chapel that burned in a city fire...
(Nieuwezijds Kapel), a chapel built to commemorate the 1345 Mirakel van Amsterdam (Miracle of the Host
Stille Omgang
A stille omgang is an informal ritual that served as substitute for the Roman Catholic processions that were prohibited after the Reformation in the Netherlands in the 16th century...
). The chapel was demolished in 1908.
Amsterdam's first commodities exchange
Commodities exchange
A commodities exchange is an exchange where various commodities and derivatives products are traded. Most commodity markets across the world trade in agricultural products and other raw materials and contracts based on them...
was built in 1608-1609 at the corner of the Rokin and Dam Square
Dam Square
Dam Square, or simply the Dam is a town square in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. Its notable buildings and frequent events make it one of the most well-known and important locations in the city.- Location and description :...
. The commodities exchange, designed by Hendrick de Keyser
Hendrick de Keyser
Hendrick de Keyser was a Dutch sculptor and architect born in Utrecht, Netherlands, who was instrumental in establishing a late Renaissance form of Mannerism in Amsterdam...
, played a key part in the economic success of the city during the Dutch Golden Age
Dutch Golden Age
The Golden Age was a period in Dutch history, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, military and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. The first half is characterised by the Eighty Years' War till 1648...
. The building was demolished in 1835.
Notable buildings
- Arti et Amicitiae, an artists' society and art galleryArt galleryAn art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
at the corner of Rokin and SpuiSpuiSpui is a Dutch term meaning a specific type of small sluice used for refreshing the network of waterways in a village or town. It may refer to the following things:*Spui, a river in the Netherlands...
, constructed in 1841 and designed in part by BerlageHendrik Petrus Berlagethumb|120px|left|BerlageHendrik Petrus Berlage, Amsterdam, 21 February 1856 — The Hague 12 August 1934, was a prominent Dutch architect.-Overview:...
. - The former offices of The Marine Insurance Company Limited at Rokin 69, a Jugendstil building from 1901 designed by Gerrit van ArkelGerrit van ArkelGerrit A. van Arkel was a Dutch architect who designed many of Amsterdam's most prominent Jugendstil buildings....
. - TobaccoTobaccoTobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
shop Hajenius at Rokin 92-96, royal purveyor of cigars and other tobacco goods since 1826. Both the building from 1914 and the richly decorated interior were designed by the brothers van Gendt, sons of the prominent 19th century architect Adolf Leonard van Gendt. - The Allard Pierson MuseumAllard Pierson MuseumThe Allard Pierson Museum is the archaeological museum of the University of Amsterdam. It is situated at the Oude Turfmarkt 127 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands...
for antiquities, on the Oude Turfmarkt, in the former headquarters of the Nederlandsche BankDe Nederlandsche BankDe Nederlandsche Bank is the central bank of the Netherlands. It is part of the European System of Central Banks .-History:...
, the Dutch central bank. - Magazijn De Gouden Bril, the oldest remaining opticianOpticianAn optician is a person who is trained to fill prescriptions for eye correction in the field of medicine, also known as a dispensing optician or optician, dispensing...
on the Netherlands, at Rokin 72. There is a statue of a monkeyMonkeyA monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
with binocularsBinocularsBinoculars, field glasses or binocular telescopes are a pair of identical or mirror-symmetrical telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point accurately in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes when viewing distant objects...
on the rooftop. - The house of Pieter Janszoon Sweelinck, son of composer and organ player Jan Pieterszoon SweelinckJan Pieterszoon SweelinckJan Pieterszoon Sweelinck was a Dutch composer, organist, and pedagogue whose work straddled the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the Baroque eras. He was among the first major keyboard composers of Europe, and his work as a teacher helped establish the north German organ...
, at Rokin 145, built in 1642/1643 under the direction of Philip Vingboons, with a splendid example of a raised neck-gableGableA gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
at the top of the building. - Hotel de l'EuropeHotel de l'Europe (Amsterdam)Hotel de l'Europe is a five-star hotel located on the Amstel river in the centre of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Hotel de l'Europe is situated opposite and overlooking the Munt, where the river Amstel flows into the Rokin canal...
, at the corner of Nieuwe Doelenstraat and Rokin, an imposing building from 1895/96.
Transport
Construction is in progress on the Rokin metro station on the North-South line (No. 52) of the Amsterdam MetroAmsterdam Metro
The Amsterdam Metro is a mixed rapid transit and light rail system in Amsterdam, and its surrounding municipalities Amstelveen, Diemen, and Ouder-Amstel in the Netherlands. The network is owned by the city of Amsterdam and operated by the Gemeentelijk Vervoerbedrijf, the company that also operates...
.
Rokin is served by tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
lines 4, 9, 14, 16, 24 & 25.