ODD FIND
Beurspassage mosaics
A shopping passage turned into a cathedral of mosaics, glass and chandeliers about the city's water: 'Amsterdamse Oersoep'.
A passage worth slowing down in
Most people use the Beurspassage to get from A to B. Walk through it slowly and it turns into something else. The walls and ceiling are covered in mosaics, with glass and chandeliers added on top, all of it about the water that made Amsterdam. The work is called 'Amsterdamse Oersoep', which means Amsterdam primordial soup.
It is a pedestrian passage near Dam Square, in the busiest part of the centre. You leave the noise and traffic behind and step into a colourful, lit-up tunnel. It costs nothing, and it takes about ten minutes if you stop to look.
Why water, and why a soup
The city's name tells the story. Amsterdam began as a dam in the river Amstel, and the square in the middle of town is still called the Dam. Without water, and constant work to control it, the place would not exist. A piece of art about the city's water is a piece of art about its beginnings.
The word 'oersoep' goes one step further. It points to the idea that all life started in water, and that the city did too. You can see this in the designs. They are crowded and organic, closer to a pond under a microscope than to a tidy city plan.
The passage takes its name from the Beurs, the old stock exchange on Damrak. Trade was the other thing that built Amsterdam, so water and money sit very close together here.
What to look for
Start by looking up. The ceiling is as busy as the walls, and the chandeliers hang low enough that you can see their detail. Then look at the surfaces. Mosaic is made of small pieces. Step close and you see single tiles of colour and glass. Step back and they turn into a picture.
Look at the light too. Glass, tile and chandeliers throw reflections along the passage, and they shift as you walk. It can feel a little like being under water.
Walk it twice, once in each direction. You notice different things on the way back, and the passage is short enough that nobody will mind you dawdling.
Most people hurry through, so you will often get a quiet moment to yourself, even here.
Before you go
- From Centraal Station, walk down Damrak towards Dam Square. It takes about ten minutes on foot.
- It is a public passage, free to walk through, and you do not need a ticket.
- Go early in the morning or later in the evening if you want it quiet. Midday brings a steady stream of people.
- Bring a camera, but also stop and look without it. The detail is in the small pieces.
- It is indoors, so it works as a short shelter on a rainy day.
What people say
Related spots
More things to do in Amsterdam ›
ODD FINDChet Baker plaque
On the hotel where the jazz trumpeter fell from a window in 1988. 'He will live on in his music.'
ODD FINDSint Olofskapel
A 15th-century chapel swallowed by a hotel, with a skull-and-bones gable stone over the old door.
ODD FINDBelow the Surface (Rokin metro)
Display cases in Rokin metro station with finds dug up for the line: keys, coins, toys and a 17th-century trumpet.
ODD FINDWooden house Zeedijk 1 (In 't Aepjen)
One of only two wooden houses left in the centre, where sailors are said to have paid their bills with monkeys.
ODD FINDUnderwater bike parking
Thousands of bikes parked in a garage under the water in front of Centraal Station, with an aquarium-like view of the IJ.
ODD FINDJacob Hooy & Co
An apothecary shop unchanged since 1743: wooden drawers of herbs, liquorice jars and a 'gaper' head over the door.
Tours and quests that pass here
These walks have a stop a few minutes from Beurspassage mosaics. Free, on your phone, start any time.
AUDIO TOURIn Rembrandt's Footsteps
From the biggest house on the street to bankruptcy and an unmarked grave. His Amsterdam, in the order he lived it.
AUDIO TOURRed Light District
Seven centuries of sailors, sin and stubborn tolerance. The real history of the oldest part of town, told straight.
AUDIO TOURAmsterdam in a Day: Highlights Walk
Start here if it's your first day. Why the houses lean, how the canals were dug, and what the Golden Age was actually built on.