The Schreierstoren, Prins Hendrikkade 94-95, is a late 15th-century brick tower and one of the few surviving parts of Amsterdam's medieval city wall. It stands on the corner of the Geldersekade and the Prins Hendrikkade, on the edge of the old harbour, about a five-minute walk from Central Station. It is nicknamed the "Weeping Tower": legend has it that sailors' wives came here to say goodbye to departing ships. You view the tower from the outside, freely and at no charge; the inside is home to a café. Allow a quarter of an hour to walk around it and read its plaques, or longer if you stop at the café.
Highlights
The tower and St Nicholas Basilica
From the quay on the station side, the round tower and its pointed roof stand out against the dome and twin towers of the Basilica of St Nicholas, completed in 1887. This is the most photographed viewpoint: it brings the medieval harbour and 19th-century Amsterdam together in a single shot.
A tower of the 1481 city wall
The tower was part of the stone ramparts built from 1481 onwards; sources date its construction to between 1482 and 1487. It is semicircular on the water side, where an enemy would have come from, and flat on the town side. Its crown, spire and adjoining buildings were added later. Restored in 1966, it has been a national monument (rijksmonument) since 1970.
The Henry Hudson plaque
On 4 April 1609, the English navigator Henry Hudson left Amsterdam aboard the Halve Maen for the Dutch East India Company (VOC), looking for a passage to Asia; he ended up exploring the river that now bears his name, where New York would later grow. The bronze plaque donated by the Greenwich Village Historical Society of New York was put up in 1927; a second, smaller plaque was added in 1959. There is no proof that Hudson set off from this exact spot.
The 1569 stone and the real meaning of the name
To the right of the entrance, a carved stone dated 1569 and inscribed "SCRAYER HOVCK" shows a woman pointing at a ship on the waves. It fed the legend of the weeping women (schreien means "to weep" in Dutch), but the name comes from "schreye", meaning "sharp angle": the city wall made a sharp corner here. The stone more likely refers to the hard year of 1569, marked by the Spanish tax and the blockade of the port.
The old harbour
The tower guarded the town's entrance on the IJ side, where the ships of the Golden Age lay at anchor. A stone above the entrance on the Prins Hendrikkade side commemorates the first Dutch voyage to the East Indies in 1595, with four ships and the Latin motto "navigare necesse est". Since Central Station was built on artificial islands at the end of the 19th century, the tower no longer looks directly out onto the IJ.
The café in the tower
Inside is the Café de Schreierstoren, with brick walls and a view of the water. It is open every day from 9am to 8pm, until 9pm from Thursday to Saturday, and every day until 9pm from 6 July to 31 August (hours checked in October 2026).
Infos pratiques
Tips
The exterior and plaques can be seen at any time, with no ticket. Walk all the way around the tower to find all the plaques and carved stones. The visit combines easily with the Basilica of St Nicholas, right next door, then Nieuwmarkt and the Waag as you walk down the Geldersekade; the Red Light District and the Oude Kerk are a few minutes away. To place the tower in the city's past, read our history of Amsterdam and our guide to the Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood.
How to get there
Prins Hendrikkade 94-95, 1012 AE Amsterdam. About a 5-minute walk from Amsterdam Centraal station (trains, metro 51, 52, 53 and 54, trams and buses): take the city-side exit and follow the Prins Hendrikkade eastwards. Nieuwmarkt metro station (lines 51, 53 and 54), about a 5-minute walk along the Geldersekade. Following the Oosterdok eastwards, you reach NEMO and the Maritime Museum in a 15 to 20-minute walk.
Opening hours
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