Kloveniersburgwal in the evening. Seen from the side of the Raamgracht towards Russia. The Kloveniersburgwal was dug at the end of the 15th century, from the Sint Antoniespoort (now the Waag on the Nieuwmarkt) to the south, where it opened onto the Amstel. A city wall was built on the city side (the west side), with three small wall towers and the great wall tower: Swych Utrecht (1481). Bordering the wall were mainly gardens and orchards, and the Bethaniënklooster. This can be clearly seen on Cornelis Anthonisz.'s 1544 bird's eye view map. With the Geldersekade and the Singel, the Kloveniersburgwal formed the city moat around the city. After the Nieuwe Gracht (today's Oudeschans) was dug and new city walls were built, the Kloveniersburgwal lost its function as a defensive moat. The old city wall was demolished and houses were built. The Kloveniersburgwal owes its name to a section of the militia called kloveniers, after the firearm the men used, a field hose. In French, this was called a couleuvrine. The kloveniers met in the Kloveniersdoelen next to 'Swijgh Utrecht', on the corner of Kloveniersburgwal and Nieuwe Doelenstraat. Later, their group portrait, The Night Watch, also hung here. Swijgh Utrecht was almost completely demolished in 1882; the Doelen Hotel was built here. Source: Wikipedia
Don Fonzarelli is a photographer and musician born and raised in the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Don Fonzarelli is the alias of Fons van der Wielen(1961).. Read more…