Quiet evening at the Torensluis in Amsterdam by Jeroen de Jongh Photography

About "Quiet evening at the Torensluis in Amsterdam"

by Jeroen de Jongh Photography

About the artwork

The Torensluis is a characteristic arch bridge over the Singel in the inner city of Amsterdam and with 42 meters it is one of the widest in the city. The reason for this is that a tower used to stand on the bridge, the Jan Roodenpoortstoren.

During the design of the bridge in 1648, the plan arose to build shop houses on the very wide bridge, just as on the Rialto Bridge in Venice. Some of the bridge's construction costs would then be recouped through rentals. But this was not decided because of the large amount of traffic the bridge would have to handle. A painting by H.G. ten Cate from 1829 shows that later some houses were built on the bridge, against the tower. These have been removed when the tower was demolished.

The bridge was also used as a market square. The bridge dates back to 1648 and is the oldest Amsterdam bridge that has been preserved in its original state. The dungeons under the tower are still present in the bridgehead. The dungeons have been restored and made accessible to the public. Exhibitions and events are now organised there. Since 2003 the contours of the remaining foundations are visible in the cobblestone pavement. Since 1987 there has been a bronze bust of Multatuli (Eduard Douwes Dekker) on the bridge, made by Hans Bayens.

The Singel is an Amsterdam canal that runs from the IJ to the Muntplein, where it flows into the Binnen Amstel. The Singel was dug around 1428 from the IJ to the Boerenwetering. Around 1450 the remaining part followed u