Amsterdam goes by many names:
One would mention it as the free haven for drugs and sex, with joints and red-lit houses everywhere. Another would think of its fetishism for cycling through the city, the wonderful canals and its weird city scape. Also culture in terms of a historical centre, and many contemporary art exhibitions could come to the fore. And a few would describe it as a cosmopolitan city that has always remained a little town. Children can still play outside, and there are no physical signs of exclusionary gated communities as what happened in so many other post-industrial cities.
But what perhaps says most about Amsterdam is the fact that all these different descriptions exist side-by-side and meet each other in the city. And how better to describe that notion of tolerance and diversity by showing a space where these can be seen together: where religion, youth, sex, drugs, and culture reside at just one spot. I am talking about a space where in one blink of an eye, you can see Amsterdam. I am talking about one square only: Oudekerksplein.
In the middle of the Red Light District, next to the canal Oudezijds Voorburgwal, there is this little square. A big church is placed in the middle: de Oude Kerk. Although nowadays not used as a Christian church, it still holds the symbol of the power that once was ubiquitous: Amsterdam is a fundamentally confessionist city, that during the Golden Age expanded its territory under the guise of the Dutch East Asia Company (VOC) and West India Company (WIC). Today, it functions as an exposition hall, facilitating, for example, the World Press Photo exhibition every year.
Next to this wonderful building there is a coffeeshop. People try their best to come up with new worldbreaking insights as they go along and smoke another joint while losing the thoughts as quickly as they popped up. Five stores to the right there is an Irish pub, showing the passing crowd the possibility of getting drunk at 11 in the morning. If one is not eager to watch (or hear) loud Englishmen, one can divert its look a little bit more to the right. On the northern side of the square, a kindergarten appears. Mothers on bikes bring their children in the morning, go to work, and collect them in the afternoon. Every time, they pass the direct neighbours of the kindergarten: red-lit windows. Some exotic women giving desperate men fifteen minutes of pure relaxation.
This square just has everything. Everything which resembles Amsterdam. It is a remarkable interplay of different institutions, life styles and worldviews. If one really wants to describe Amsterdam in one word and in one place, there is only one option: Oudekerksplein.
Share On
