Amsterdammertje

An Amsterdammertje

A street with Amsterdammertjes on the painting Backlight Langestraat (1993) by Frans Koppelaar

An Amsterdammertje is the typical red-brown steel traffic bollard that is used to separate the sidewalk from the street in Amsterdam. Amsterdammertje means literally 'little one from Amsterdam' in Dutch. The bollards have the three Saint Andrew's Crosses from the coat of arms of Amsterdam.

In the 20th Century the Amsterdammetjes are being removed from sidewalks. New and used Amsterdammertjes are sold online by the city government of Amsterdam.

History

Around 1800, more and more individual people in Amsterdam started to use bollards to protect the sidewalk in front of their houses. These bollards were made of metal (originally old cannons, see also Bollards), stone, or wood. In the late 19th century the first cast iron bollards were made.

From 1915 onwards there was a standard bollard of 70 kg cast iron with three Saint Andrew's Crosses from the coat of arms of Amsterdam. This bollard already looked like the modern Amsterdammertje, although, amongst other differences, it was thinner and heavier.

From 1972 the Amsterdammertjes were no longer made from the expensive and heavy cast iron, but from plates of steel, approximately 1.35 m high and only weighing 20 kg. This type is currently used in the city of Amsterdam; all 1915 type bollards have been replaced or removed. In 1984, there were approximately 100,000 Amsterdammertjes.

As increasingly trucks pushed the Amsterdammetjes over and smaller cars passed between these bollards, the use of Amsterdammertjes was no longer sufficient to prevent cars from parking on the sidewalks. Instead, during the 2000s, the sidewalks in Amsterdam were being slightly elevated from the streets for separation. Yearly, around 2,000 Amsterdammertjes are removed until all are gone. In 2003, there were 37,616 Amsterdammertjes left.

See also

• Traffic cone