Naatje van de Dam

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Drawing De Eendracht by Dirk Wijbrand (1856)
Naatje van de Dam (1890/1900)

Naatje van de Dam (officially De Eendracht ) was a memorial that stood on Dam Square in Amsterdam from 1856 until it was demolished in 1914 . It symbolized the folk spirit from 1830-1831 and Dutch unity . Since 1956 the national monument , which commemorates the victims of the Second World War , has been located on the square .

history

The monument on the Dam

Naatje decorated with flowers on the occasion of a visit by the German emperor in 1891

In the course of the Belgian Revolution in 1831, the Netherlands under King William I tried to demonstrate their power by invading Belgium on August 2nd. Several cities were conquered in a short time. However, after France threatened to intervene militarily, the Dutch king agreed to an armistice on August 12 .

From 1846, 15 years after this so-called “ ten-day campaign ”, the Vereeniging Het Metalen Kruis campaigned for the erection of a monument by veterans of the campaign. The troops at that time - the strength is estimated at around 36,000 men - had largely consisted of volunteers who had volunteered out of patriotic enthusiasm. After the mission, the soldiers were awarded the Metal Kruis . The memorial was intended to commemorate this military campaign, but also to be a symbool van de volksgeest van 1830–1831 en Nederlandse eendracht (symbol of the people's spirit from 1830–1831 and of Dutch unity) . De Eendracht was in 1856 by King Wilhelm III. unveiled during five-day festivities.

Even before the monument was erected, the reactions to the project were mixed, as the campaign had been unsuccessful and had resulted in the country's political isolation and near bankruptcy. The high cost of the monument was criticized against the background of great poverty in the country, even if it should be raised through donations. The required sum of 22,500 guilders did not come together, however, and the state had to contribute 5800 guilders.

One reason for the division of the United Netherlands into two countries had been religion: the majority in the northern Netherlands (now the Netherlands) was Protestant, the majority in the southern parts of the country (now Belgium) Roman Catholic. Many Dutch people were therefore rather happy to get rid of the Belgians, these “strange Roman hypocrites”, according to the historian Hans Blom . The erection of the monument gave the Catholic minority in the Netherlands the feeling that they were not part of this nation. This assessment was confirmed during the unveiling in the speech by Professor Ulrich Gerard Lauts , in which he answered the rhetorical question whether the Netherlands was a Protestant country with “yes”. The Catholic thought leader Joseph Alberdingk Thijm therefore felt the monument to be “unworthy” and “tasteless”, yes, “anti-national”. When Catholic newspapers reported too critically about the monument, they no longer received invitations or notifications to the festivities. In fact, even Justice Minister Justinus van der Brugghen spoke of the initiators as a “reactionary club” at a feast as part of the unveiling, but this was “coughed away” by those present.

Initially it was planned to erect a large cross from the melted down cannons that had been captured from the Belgians. However, out of consideration for the feelings of the Belgians, this idea was abandoned and an allegorical female figure was chosen to symbolize the unity of the Dutch people, referring to the motif of the Nederlandse Maagd .

The figure was created by the Flemish sculptor Louis Royer , who had already created the Rembrandt monument on Rembrandtplein . It was four meters high and stood on a column 18 meters high, designed by the Dutch painter Paul Tétar van Elven . There were several inscriptions on the column, including on the front Aan de volksgeest van 1830 en 1831 (To the Volksgeist of 1830 and 1831) and on the back Tot opwekking van tijdgenoot en nageslacht (To awaken contemporaries and descendants) . The female figure was dressed in antique clothing and was holding a cornucopia in her right arm , while she was resting the left arm on a quiver of arrows. She fixed her gaze on the royal Paleis op de Dam . In order to be able to erect the monument, the foundations of a weighing house had to be removed, which had stood there when the Dam was still a market place and which had been demolished in 1808.

The nose of the figure made of soft Belgian sandstone was destroyed by frost in the first winter , so that the entire head had to be dismantled for restoration. In 1907 Naatje lost her right arm, which almost hit a passerby if she fell. He was not replaced. The face was weathered by environmental influences and was soon deformed. When important visitors were expected at the Dam is therefore covered the statue with flowers, such as in the Inhuldigung of Queen Wilhelmina in 1898 or during visits of the German Emperor Wilhelm II. At the foot of the column there was a fountain basin, the small fountain which rarely worked. In addition, to the annoyance of many Amsterdam residents, the monument has become a meeting place for the city's poorest.

The monument was officially called De Eendracht . Popularly , the female figure on the memorial was given the ambiguous nickname Naatje van de Dam . Naatje was probably a corruption of the Dutch term natie for nation , naatje (slit), in turn, is a popular name for vulva .

In 1913, the Amsterdam City Council decided to demolish the monument to make way for the laying of tram tracks and electrical wiring. Considerations to move the figure to another location in Amsterdam were not implemented. A critic of the monument ironically suggested a new location “on the heath”. Naatje van de Dam was dismantled on April 8, 1914 . Parts of the hard stone monument were sold for 185 guilders. Victor de Stuers , an art-loving politician, wrote that one of the “ugliest things” that one would have ever seen in the Netherlands would disappear. The Amsterdamers said goodbye to Naatje with a mocking song:

"Lieve Naatje, scream toch niet
Nu gij dra de sloopers ziet
Lang genoeg stondt ge op de Dam
Oud en stijf, mismaak en lam."

"Dear Naatje, don't cry.
Now that you see the
tear-offs you have stood on the dam
old and stiff, disfigured and lame."

There was also a popular song with the words Nu gaat Naatje van de dam / Ze moet verdwijnen voor de Electrische Tram . (Now Naatje van de Dam is leaving / she has to disappear for the electric tram.) The Dutch phrase het is naatje for something worthless, unsuccessful .

After the demolition

Replica from 1950: "For sale"

The remains of the figure were given to the Stedelijk Museum . In the 1930s, a journalist from Algemeen Dagblaad found her lying in the garden there and full of moss. The figure stared at him with “tired eyes” under the helmet, as if they could be helped to resume their traditional place on Dam Square.

During the occupation of the Netherlands by Germany, the National Socialist movement NSB planned to put the statue back up. In a newspaper report from 1942 it says: "The courageous maid defied scorn and ridicule." However, the figure could no longer be found. The head was last seen in the office of a museum employee, where it was on a cabinet; but later he was also missing.

Naatje in art and culture

On the occasion of the 500th birthday of the Kalverstraat , a medieval Damstad was built on the Dam in 1950 , including a three-meter-high imitation of the figure of Naatje made of paper mache by the sculptor Hubert van Lith . The figure was pulled to the Dam on a chariot with four horses with great public participation, erected and greeted with a speech by the writer Simon Carmiggelt . After the end of the festival, the figure was offered for sale (see picture on the right). In 1955 Naatje was sung about in the song M'n ouwe Amstelstad by the folk singer Aunt Leen . In 1959, on the occasion of the Dam dead Damloops from Amsterdam to Zaanstad Naatje van de Dam was played by the actress Conny Stuart , at her side the actor Dimitri Frenkel Frank as Peter the Great . In the 1960s, cabaret artist Wim Sonneveld sang a song with the line “'t is weer naatje op de Dam” in his role as Frater Venantius .

For the 700th birthday of the city of Amsterdam, a Nieuwe Naatje was commissioned by the Dutch publisher Proost en Brandt , which, however, does not imitate the old figure, but is designed in a modern style. The figure of the sculptor Hanna Mobach stood on the Rokin from 1975 to 2003 , in 2005 it was moved to the Marnixstraat near the Bullebaksluis .

From 1947, there was a temporary memorial in the form of a curved brick wall in memory of the victims of the Second World War at the place where Naatje had stood on the Dam . In 1956 it was replaced by the national monument, where the celebrations for the National Doden Herdenking take place every year.

gallery

  • Visit of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Consort Hendrik in April 1900

  • The Dam 1911

  • Dismantling of Naatje on April 8, 1914

  • Conny Stuart as Naatje in 1959

  • Nieuwe Naatje (2017)

literature

  • Henri Beunders: "'t Is Naatje" . In: Nicolaas CF van Sas (ed.): Waar de blanke top der duinen en other vaderlandse herinneringen . 2nd Edition. Pandora Pockets, Amsterdam 2005, ISBN 978-90-467-0271-0 , pp. 133 .

Web links

Commons : Naatje van de Dam  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Naatje van de Dam - Eerste monument op de Dam. In: historiek.net. December 3, 2019, accessed August 2, 2020 (Dutch).
  2. ↑ a b Naatje op de Dam: het eerste nationaal monument van Nederland - ONH. In: onh.nl. September 30, 2013, accessed August 2, 2020 (Dutch).
  3. ^ Samuel de Korte: Studentencompagnieën tijdens de Tiendaagse Veldtocht. In: historiek.net. March 26, 2018, accessed August 20, 2020 (Dutch).
  4. ↑ Willem I en de Tiendaagse Veldtocht. In: histornieuwsblad.nl. April 7, 2020, accessed August 20, 2020 (Dutch).
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g Ons Amsterdam - Twee national monuments. Oorlogsmonument uit 1956 houdt het beter dan 'Naatje' uit 1856. In: onsamsterdam.nl. Retrieved August 16, 2020 (Dutch).
  6. ↑ Beunders: "'t Is Naatje". P. 137.
  7. ↑ Beunders: "'t Is Naatje". P. 133.
  8. ↑ a b Beunders: "'t Is Naatje". P. 138.
  9. ↑ With a total of around five million inhabitants at the end of the 19th century, around 900,000 people were Catholic. See: [1] , [2]
  10. ↑ Beunders: "'t Is Naatje". P. 139.
  11. ↑ Beunders: "'t Is Naatje". P. 141.
  12. ↑ Beunders: "'t Is Naatje". P. 142.
  13. ↑ a b Het is weer naatje. In: muizenest.nl. June 12, 2016, accessed August 3, 2020 (Dutch).
  14. ↑ a b 100 jaar geleden verdween Naatje van de Dam. In: onsamsterdam.nl. Retrieved August 2, 2020 (Dutch).
  15. ↑ van 'die Plaetse' tot de Dam. Retrieved on August 17, 2020 (PDF; 5.08 MB).
  16. ↑ Erfgoed. Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam 2007, ISBN 978-90-5356-912-2 , p. 290 ( limited preview in Google book search).
  17. ↑ a b Beunders: "'t Is Naatje". P. 143.
  18. ↑ a b c Naatje. In: buitenbeeldinbeeld.nl. Retrieved August 2, 2020 .
  19. ↑ Het verdwijnen van Naatje van den Dam , www.geheugenvannederland.nl
  20. ↑ a b En Naatje van de Dam. In: De waarheid. February 21, 1942, p. 3.
  21. ↑ De Dam as Plaats van Herinnering. In: amsterdamdam.nl. Retrieved August 2, 2020 .
  22. ↑ Aunt Leen - M'n ouwe Amstelstad. In: songtexte.com. April 1, 2023, accessed August 18, 2020 .
  23. ^ Leeuwarder courant , August 15, 1959, p. 13.
  24. ↑ Brother Venantius. Retrieved on August 20, 2020 (PDF; 101 kB).
  25. ↑ Nieuwe Naatje. In: Buitenkunst Amsterdam. Retrieved August 16, 2020 (Dutch).

Coordinates: 52 ° 22 '22.07 "  N , 4 ° 53' 37.48"  O