Sailing at sunset on the Oosterdok in Amsterdam by Jeroen de Jongh Photography

About "Sailing at sunset on the Oosterdok in Amsterdam"

by Jeroen de Jongh Photography

About the artwork

The Oosterdok is a body of water in Amsterdam. It came into existence in 1832 when the construction of the Oosterdok Dam separated this part of the IJ, thus eliminating the ebb and flow of the then still open water of the Zuiderzee. On the east side, this created the enclosed expanse of water now called Oosterdok. On the west side, the Westerdok was similarly created.

The south bank of the IJ with the later Prins Hendrikkade came to lie behind the later station building due to the construction of the railroad in 1874. Before the Central Station was built, an emergency Oosterdok station for the then-opened Oosterspoorweg to Hilversum arose on the Oosterdok Island in 1874. In 1889, the Central Station was opened. Since then, the railroad has formed the northern boundary of the Oosterdok.

The Oosterdok has seen many developments. In the 1960s, the IJtunnel was constructed, whose tunnel basin extends far into the Oosterdok. The Oosterdok Island, which had previously been mainly a railroad yard, was built on the south side in the 1960s with the new Main Post Office. In 1997, built on the foundations of the IJtunnel, the science center NEMO opened.

Next to NEMO on the Oosterdok is also the complex of the Marine Etablissement Amsterdam with the building of 's Lands Zeemagazijn, which has housed Het Scheepvaartmuseum since 1973. As part of the museum, the replica of the East Indiaman "Amsterdam" is moored in the Oosterdok. Furthermore, the "Vereniging Museumhaven Amsterdam" and ARCAM (the Architecture Center Amsterdam) are located on the Oosterdok.