Nieuwmarkt and the Waag: Amsterdam's medieval city gate

The Waag, in the middle of the Nieuwmarkt square, is a former city gate, the Sint-Antoniespoort, whose foundation stone bears the date 1488. It is the oldest surviving non-religious building in Amsterdam. It became a public weigh house in 1617 and then the seat of several guilds, including the surgeons' guild; today it houses a restaurant-café and the Waag Futurelab. The square is freely accessible day and night, with a market from Monday to Saturday, on the edge of the Red Light District and Chinatown. Allow 20 to 30 minutes to walk around the Waag and the square, longer if you browse the market or have a drink on a terrace.

Highlights

The Waag and its towers

The brick building keeps its round towers topped with pointed roofs, inherited from the medieval gate that was part of the city wall built at the end of the 15th century. As the city grew, the gate lost its defensive role; in 1617-1618 its inner space was roofed over to serve as a public weigh house, where goods were weighed.

The guild entrances

The upper floors housed the guilds of the blacksmiths, painters, masons and surgeons, each with its own door. The guild emblems are still visible above the entrances; over the surgeons' door you can read the inscription "Theatrum Anatomicum".

The Nieuwmarkt market

The square was created in 1614, when the water around the gate was covered over, and it has been a marketplace ever since. From Monday to Friday a small market sells fruit, vegetables, flowers and cheese; on Saturday the organic farmers' market fills the whole square. On Sundays from May to October there is a market for antiques, curiosities and old books.

The anatomy theatre and Rembrandt

The surgeons' guild had its rooms in the Waag, and it was this guild that commissioned Rembrandt's The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp, painted in 1632. The domed anatomy theatre, where public dissections took place, was fitted out in 1690-1691. It is now used by Waag Futurelab for debates and presentations: it is not open for walk-in visits, only during these events or open days.

The In de Waag restaurant-café

Since 1996 the ground floor has been home to the In de Waag restaurant-café, lit by some 300 candles in large chandeliers. It opens every day from 11am, with the kitchen serving from 11:30am to 10pm (checked in October 2026): it is the only way to get inside the building outside events.

An eventful history

After the guilds, the building served as a fencing hall, a workshop, a fire station, the city archives and then a museum. In the 1970s, the demolition of houses in the neighbourhood to build the metro led to the Nieuwmarkt riots of 1975; the plan for an urban motorway was dropped, but the metro was completed. During the Second World War, the square was also used as an assembly point for Amsterdam Jews before their deportation.

The Zeedijk and Chinatown

North of the square, the Zeedijk, a former dyke that became a sailors' street, is the heart of Amsterdam's Chinatown: Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese restaurants, Asian grocery shops and street signs in both Dutch and Chinese. Here you will find the He Hua Buddhist temple, open to the public, and Café 't Mandje, opened in 1927 by Bet van Beeren and still a landmark of the city's gay and lesbian history. At the end of the Zeedijk, the Schreierstoren marks the old harbour.

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