When I first moved to Amsterdam, I spent months wandering through the city, discovering places and taking photos, marvelling at the city that was to be my new home. One of the things that amazed me the most back then was how many places had a nostalgic feel to them, and seemed to have been suspended in time somewhere in the past. One of these places that I discovered quickly in my first year here, because I like to check all the hidden corners, was the Oudemanhuispoort book market. This a treasure trove in a hidden passage right in the city centre. You enter through an open gate and you find yourself among stalls and piles of books, some looking very old and precious, and then it takes you at least 30 minutes to reach the other end of the passage.
Because picture this: a covered walkway between old buildings, lined with antique wooden shop cabinets stuffed with second-hand books, historic maps, sheet music, engravings, and old prints. These cabinets, called “winkelkasten” in Dutch, are like little wooden caves of wonder, each one packed with its own unique collection of literary and artistic treasures.
The passage itself is part of a 17th-century building complex that once served as an Old Men’s and Women’s Hospital. Today, it’s one of the locations of the University of Amsterdam, which means you’ll often find yourself browsing alongside students hurrying to their lectures. The market is open from Monday to Saturday, and patience is your best friend here. This isn’t a place for quick purchases; it’s a place for discovery. You might find yourself flipping through boxes of old postcards from the 1920s, stumbling upon a rare antique map of the Dutch colonies, or uncovering sheet music for a forgotten waltz. The sellers themselves are often characters worth meeting, knowledgeable, passionate, and always ready to share a story about their wares.
What I love most is how hidden it feels. Despite being right in the centre of Amsterdam, most tourists walk right past the entrance without noticing. It’s one of those rare authentic corners of the city that hasn’t been polished up for visitors. It simply exists as it always has, a living piece of Amsterdam’s history, unfortunately shrinking with each year that passes.
And here’s a little secret: if you peek through one of the side openings in the passage, you’ll discover a peaceful green courtyard, which is the university courtyard. It’s a lovely spot to sit and leaf through whatever treasure you’ve just acquired, surrounded by old brick walls.
Legend has it that Van Gogh himself used to shop here, occasionally paying with paintings when he couldn’t afford cash. Whether or not that’s true, it certainly adds to the romantic charm of the place.
A Brief History of the Oudemanhuispoort Book Market
Those shabby display cabinets have been here since 1757, originally renting space to traders of all sorts: gold, silver, haberdashery. The book market specifically began in 1879, when booksellers were displaced from the Botermarkt (today’s Rembrandtplein) and settled into fifteen cabinets here. Fourteen remain today, because one was removed during a 1979 renovation to create a passageway to the university complex.
Until 1941, the market was predominantly run by Jewish booksellers. Names like Barend Boekman, Emanuel de Wolff, and Juda Emmering were well known among book lovers. Tragically, after 1941 it became impossible for them to continue their trade, and most were deported and murdered in concentration camps. Only Betsy and Jacques van Kollem survived the war and returned to the Poort for a few years afterward. The other bookshops in the Poort then changed hands.
Another notable figure was Hendrik Pfann, who opened the renowned antiquarian bookshop “In ‘t Oude Boeckhuys” in 1924. He was a flamboyant character, known for his velvet coat and large black hat, who turned the sale of every book into a theatrical performance. His legacy continued through three generations of Pfanns, who eventually built a book empire across the Netherlands.
Today, the market carries on, a testament to centuries of Amsterdam’s book culture. It’s one of the few real pieces of this city that has survived to this day, and I hope it stays there for a long time.
Address: the official address is Oudemanhuispoort, 1012 CZ Amsterdam. One entrance is from Kloveniersburgwal and the other from Oudezijds Achterburgwal.
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