Dazzling Amsterdam : de Waag

Hello fellow Steemians and welcome to another post on Dazzling Amsterdam. This is part eight in a series I'm doing, so feel free to read any of my earlier posts on Dazzling Amsterdam

Here's my girl Eefje in front of the Waag, which is located on the Nieuwmarkt in Amsterdam, just on the edge of the Red Light District. It was originally built in the 15th century as a gate to the city, which was part of the City Wall. It's one of two city gates that still stand today.

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After the city expanded beyond the walls in the 17th century, the Waag got the function it got its name from. Waag (Waeghe in old Dutch) is the dutch word for scales. Merchants came here to weigh all sorts of goods and the upper-levels of the building housed several guilds. Ornaments on the outside of the building still remind us of these days.

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In the 19th century the Waag had several functions: as fencing hall, furniture factory, firehouse and city archives. After that, in the 20th century it was the birthplace of the Amsterdam Historic Museum and the Jewish Historic Museum, which were both relocated to a different place in Amsterdam.In the final decade of the 20th century the building was empty and needed a thorough renovation.

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Today the Waag houses a Cafe/Restaurant on the ground floor. The top levels hold the Waag Society, an institute that busies itself with a mixture of art, technology and electronic media.
The building is also on the list of National Monuments.

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I hope you all enjoyed the read. If you want to read my other posts on Dazzling Amsterdam, click here

Peace and Love!