Schreierstoren

Schreierstoren stands beside the canal in Amsterdam, where a fifteenth-century tower preserves part of the city’s medieval edge. Built in 1487, it formed part of the defensive wall and rose at a sharp angle above the water.

Amsterdam removed its walls as the city expanded at the end of the sixteenth century, but this structure survived as the last completely preserved tower from that system. Henry Hudson sailed from here towards North America in 1609, while a plaque above the entrance recalls the first Dutch voyage to the East Indies in 1595. Later, the tinsmiths’ guild used the building until 1683, and the harbour master’s office remained here until 1960. A 1966 restoration retained the original wooden skeleton and two of Amsterdam’s oldest convent windows.

Today, a café occupies the tower, with a terrace overlooking the canal and old architectural details inside. Look towards the nearby Geldersekade quay wall for large sandstone blocks salvaged from the original city wall.