The Transvaalbuurt

The Transvaalbuurt is a ward of the Oost/Watergraafsmeer area situated in Amsterdam Oost. The quarter lies between the Transvaalkade in the South, the Wibautstraat in the West, the track line between Amstel station and Muiderpoort station in the North and the Linnaeusstraat in the East.

The name Transvaalbuurt refers to the names of streets and squares borrowed from the former colony Transvaal in South Africa.

After the Boerenoorlog (War of the Farmers), which had been won by the English, many Dutch cities and villages named their streets after the names of the people and other geographical terms of the Transvaal colony. This is how the Transvaalbuurt arose in Amsterdam.

Centrally in the ward lies the Transvaalstraat, which got its name in 1912. Furthermore streets and squares have been named after president Steyn, Paul Kruger and Pretorius.

The Transvaalbuurt counts around 4,500 houses wherein almost 10,000 people are living. The ward covers a surface of 38 hectares. The original construction goes back 100 years, where many of these houses were built in the style of the Amsterdam School, which makes the Transvaalbuurt special and worth to have a look at. Unfortunately a large part of the constructed houses is rather small.

The Transvaalbuurt is a lively area with a variety of cultures. In the multicultural ward just 36% of the inhabitants have Dutch origins. Moreover it is one of the neighbourhoods in the city with biggest number of children.