The Dapperbuurt

The Dapperbuurt is a district of Amsterdam Oost and a component of the district Oost/Watergraafsmeer. It is limited by the Linnaeusstraat, Mauritskade, Pontanusstraat and the track line Amsterdam - Utrecht.

The streets are named after historians. Centrally in the district is the Dapperstraat located, named after Olfert Dapper, where the Dappermarkt takes place from Monday to Saturday. Beside the Albert Cuyp market this is one of the most famous and busiest markets in Amsterdam.

The Dapperbuurt has arisen at the end of the nineteenth century. Origin was the construction plan of the Amsterdam urban planner J. Kalff from the year 1875, in which the rectangular block-system dominated.

The Dapperbuurt was a labour and Protestant district, compared to the Catholic Oosterpark. The district also accommodated many socialist workers and Jews, who built a synagogue in 1928 at the Linnaeusstraat.

The World War II left its mark in the district. Much Jewish occupants were deported and the synagogue and a number of houses were devastated.

Architecture

In Amsterdam’s Dapperbuurt urban renewal (released in the 1980’s) has visibly changed the character of the district. To prevent further harm to this urban architectonic character, capturing many houses from 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, a ban was placed to prevent any further demolition.

This decision had a far-reaching effect on 17 buildings at the Commelinstraat and its vicinity, which had been in a poor structural condition after the World War II and required housing improvements. But instead of replacing them with new houses, the buildings were renovated and/or redeveloped.

This resulted in a replacement of the foundation of all seven blocks and giving three of them new rear walls. The historic façades had been restored as well. The restorative approach was implemented as thoroughly as possible: from weathered jointing to the modern equivalent of the vertical sash window, from stone ornaments to string courses.

The design was invented in 1999 and the construction project completed in 2006 by the architects Remko Veenstra and Erna Stoetzer.

Trams have been driving through the Dapperbuurt since 1901 with the following tram lines running in and along the Dapperbuurt: 3, 7, 9 and 14.

The Dapperbuurt has been mentioned in a lot of poems, for example poems from J. C. Bloem and Nescio. The market, shops, cafés and restaurants are within walking distance from the Oosterpark.