This week I'm taking you on a 15 minute stroll, mostly past Rozengracht, once a canal (hence 'gracht'), since 1889 filled-in. For hygienic purposes (the canal was also a main sewer. In a densely populated area) and to create more space for an invention that got people to get work outside of the place where they lived: the car. Rembrandt lived on this street the last years of his life, have danced with a few future partners in a club on this street and more than one 'woke' (i.e. people started to speak up for minorities and forced the government to show empathy in actions) revolution started on this street.
Do you have streets with interesting historic titbits in your part of the world?
Here's the Rozenhofje: appartment buildings for unmarried protestant women of over 50 since 1744. Yes, to this day. Looks a bit modern because it was updated in 1990 to comply with modern housing standards.
Only a 100 years old and first imagined to be a community center for Catholic youth, it soon attracted non-catholics as well. Like the Jewish and gay guy Jan Musscher. Who became world famous in the whole of Amsterdam as folksinger Johnny Jordaan.
Late seventies - after a traffic accident in which a young girl sadly got killed - in the whole of the Netherland different sets of infrastructure rules made sure cars from now on got the third spot in traffic: after pedestrians and bikes.
A look into one of the many sidestreets. You'll notive the 'klinkers' on which the sparse cars (locals and emergency services) have to drive. A bit more expensive than asphalt but very durable, long lasting and easy to recycle; baked chunks of river clay, basically.
In 1890 this building was constructed for the socialist movement that brought forth the first socialist in Dutch Parliament: Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis. I named our son after him. His mother never found out. The socialist movement didn't have enough money and sold it to the Catholics. They got a couple of billion from Hitler and stole all money and assets from smaller christian sects who would not bow to 'the one and only loving god!' and slaughtered most of them. Next to doing a lot of good. Really. Like helping a bunch of poor socialists get out of debt. The Netherlands ran out of catholics so it was just a sad and empty building until it was sold and is now a thriving mosque annex community center. Including a very nice bakery on the ground floor.
On the right you see a bit of what used to be home to the local fire department. Which moved to a newer and bigger barracks, some 200 meters down the road. It was designated to be a fire department museum but I guess the city ran out of money. Perhaps you know a buyer who wants to create something nicer than another stroopwafel shop?
What you do it for, the 15 minutes walk to feed a friend's cat:
Click to enlarge.
More pictures? Check my Flickr page
Every SWF-picture published here is shot with my trusty Google Pixel 7 smartphone and unedited, unless stated otherwise.
For more Skywatch Friday photo's from around the globe, please check http://skyley.blogspot.com/
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Thought it was time for another #circlepoem.
Don't know what this writing form is officially called
but the first and last line are always the same. So I figured 'circlepoem' sounded appropriate:
Her Voice was gone (a #circlePoem)
Her voice was gone
so now he could finally
move on
by himself
and not restricted
by advice,
good or bad
if only he could
figure out how
to do what he did
and always wanted
now that
her voice was gone
======================
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