Muntplein


Muntplein
Added by Bart Perdieus
General Description The Muntplein (literally "mint square") is a square in the centre of Amsterdam. The square is in fact a bridge — the widest bridge in Amsterdam — which crosses the Singel canal at the point where it flows into the Amstel river. All bridges in Amsterdam are numbered, and the Muntplein carries the number 1.

Muntplein is named after the Munttoren (or simply Munt) tower which stands on this square. This tower was once part of one of the three main medieval city gates. In the 17th century, it temporarily served as a mint, hence the name. The guard house building attached to the tower is not the original medieval structure but a late 19th-century fantasy. An underpass was added to the building during a 1938–1939 renovation.

The name "Muntplein" dates from 1917. The square was originally known as Schapenplein ("sheep square") and, from 1877 to 1917, as Sophiaplein (after Queen Sophia, first wife of William III).
Height 140.00 mm
Width 90.00 mm
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