Lindengracht


The Lindengracht is a street and former canal in Amsterdam.
It is in the Jordaan neighborhood of the Centrum district just west of the canal belt.
The canal was back-filled in 1895. It connected the Brouwersgracht with the Lijnbaansgracht.
The Eerste Lindendwarsstraat and Tweede Lindendwarsstraat are side streets.
Lindenstraat runs parallel to the Lindengracht.

History

The Lindengracht was dug in the first half of the 17th century during the major urban expansion called the Third Expansion of Amsterdam.
Founded in the 14th century and almost completely destroyed by fire in 1572, the Carthusian monastery ' Sint-Andries- ter-Zaliger-Haven' was initially outside the city walls.
After the city expansion of 1612, the site came to lie within the city: between Lindengracht, Tweede Lindendwarsstraat, Lijnbaansgracht and Karthuizersstraat.
The only thing that visibly recalls the monastery - mentioned by Joost van den Vondel in his play Gijsbrecht van Aemstel - is the 17th-century 'Karthuizerhofje for widows'.
The Lindengracht and the Palmgracht were back-filled in 1895.
There were eleven canals in the Jordaan: from north to south: Palmgracht, Goudsbloemgracht, Lindengracht, Anjeliersgracht, Egelantiersgracht, Bloemgracht, Rozengracht, Lauriergracht, Elandsgracht, Looiersgracht and Passeerdersgracht. The Goudsbloemgracht was backfilled after 1857, the Anjeliersgracht in 1861, the Elandsgracht in 1891 and the Rozengracht in 1889. The reasons for back-filling were the poor water quality and the need to create space for increasing traffic.
The Rozengracht became an important tram connection between the center and the neighborhoods west of the Singelgracht.
Various plans to back-fill other canals met with resistance from residents, shopkeepers and market traders.
On July 25 and 26 July 1886 the police tried to prevent playing of the forbidden game of palingtrekken on Zaterdagse Brug over the Lindengracht.
This led to riots known as the Palingoproer in which 25 people were killed.
Thanks to the efforts of Louise Went, home supervisor and later director of Bouwonderneming Jordaan NV, and her future husband, the architect Jan Ernst van der Pek, a block of new homes was built in 1896 on Lindengracht near Goudsbloemstraat and Goudsbloemdwarsstraten.
Initiatives such as these had a major impact on the development of social housing.
The reliefs on the facades of Lindengracht depict craftsmen's professions.
The Albert Cuypstraat, Dapperstraat, Ten Katestraat and Lindengracht were designated as service streets in 1910.
There is a Saturday market on Lindengracht.
On 5 July 1934, the first fatal victim of the Jordaanoproer fell on Lindengracht.
The man was hit by a bullet in the head.
The bronze statue that Hans Bayens made in 1979 in honor of writer and schoolmaster Theo Thijssen is on the Lindengracht near the Brouwersgracht.
The Jan Ligtharthuis, named after the educational innovator Jan Ligthart, is at Lindengracht 83-85.
The OKC has been located at Lindengracht 204 since 2009.
The Stadsbank van Lening was housed in this building from 1902 until 2008.
There are 21 rijksmonumenten on the Lindengracht.

Courtyards

In many places in the Jordaan there were so-called corridors between the houses.
These narrow alleys gave access to the built-in backyards behind the row of houses, where the less fortunate lived in often dilapidated shelters.
The north side of the Lindengracht alone included:
These alleys have usually been given a different use after restoration or new construction of adjacent buildings.

Schools