The Jewish Quarter  

For more than 350 years, Amsterdam was a center of Jewish life, and its Jewish community was a major contributor to the city's vitality and prosperity. The Waterlooplein area was their neighborhood, where they held their market and built their synagogues.

Of the five synagogues built in the 17th and 18th centuries, only the Portuguese Synagogue continued to serve as a house of worship after the devastating depletion of the Jewish population in World War II. The other buildings, sold to the city in 1955, stood unused and in great need of repair for many years. During those years, the city authorities and the curators of the Jewish Historical Collection of the Amsterdam Historical Museum were patiently reestablishing the collection of paintings, decorations, and ceremonial objects that had been confiscated during World War II.

Ashkenazi synagogue complex (nowadays Jewish Historical Museum)

Hollandsche Schouwburg (Dutch Theatre)

Portuguese Synagogue
Once the world's largest synagogue

The Jewish Community of Amsterdam

recommended websites

Jewish Amsterdam map of Jewish life and culture in Amsterdam

Hollandsche Schouwburg