Munttoren
The Munttoren or de Munt (Mint Tower) is a tower in the center of Amsterdam . This is part of the former Regulierspoort city gate , which was part of the former city wall. There were originally two towers and a guard house built between 1480 and 1487. Both towers burned down in 1618, after which only the western tower was rebuilt. The stump of the tower received an octagonal structure with an open tower dome from 1619 to 1620, based on a design by Hendrick de Keyser , four clock faces and a carillon .
The carillon was cast by the Hemony brothers around 1650 . In 1873 the bells were sold as scrap iron and can now be viewed in the Amsterdam Museum . The carillon currently consists of 38 bells, eleven more than originally. Every quarter of an hour, a mechanical mechanism sounds the bells, and the bells strike the time on the half hour and full hour. Every Saturday from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., city bell player Gideon Bodden gives a concert.
The name of the tower indicates that coins were struck here in the 17th century. The tower got its current name in the Dutch fateful year ( Rampjaar ) 1672, when Amsterdam was given the right to strike coins.
At that time, large parts of the Netherlands were occupied by France and it was not possible to transport gold and silver to the coins in Dordrecht and Enkhuizen . The coins were minted in the guard house.
The guard house that survived the fire of 1618 was demolished in the 19th century and replaced by the current building. It was built in the neo-renaissance style. During a renovation in 1938 and 1939, a passage was created on the ground floor.
The tower is located on the Muntplein , a busy intersection at the beginning of the Kalverstraat and the Rokin and at the end of the flower market ( Bloemenmarkt ) on Singel . The Muntplein is actually a wide bridge where the Singel joins the Amstel . It is the widest bridge in downtown Amsterdam and number one in the Amsterdam bridge directory.
Because of the construction of the new north-south line of the subway , the foundations of the tower must be reinforced, otherwise there is a risk of it sagging.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Wim Alings: Kentekens in stad en land . Nefkens, Utrecht 1978, pp. 36-37.
- ^ Munttoren (1620) ( Memento of April 8, 2007 in the Internet Archive ). Dutch, accessed April 29, 2013
Coordinates: 52 ° 22 ′ 1.2 " N , 4 ° 53 ′ 35.5" E