Document: Print: the fire in the old Town Hall of Amsterdam, completely burned down during the use of the old Spuyten, 1652

Fire was a major cause of loss of life and property in the 17th Century.   The use of candles, hearths, lanterns, and pipes meant that sparks were always a possibility.  Putting out a fire was very difficult, and fire could spread easily, as it did in the Great Fire of London in 1666.

The Old Town Hall during the fire on 7 July 1652. In the foreground the water of the Damrak, on the far left the side wall of the Huis onder 't Zeil. Next to it, successively houses on the Dam, the entrance to the Kalverstraat with the corner house on the Kalverstraat and a view into the Gasthuissteeg. Behind the Damrak the Dam with the Old Town Hall and on the far right the Waag. Many people are busy extinguishing the fire, with both fire buckets and fire engines. Print 3 from the Brandspuitenboek by Jan van der Heyden. Technique: etching. Date of production: 1690.

The New Town Hall was eventually built after this disaster.

• Manufacturer

  Heyden, Jan van der (1637-1712)

• Collection

  Atlas Dreesmann Collection

• Dating

  1690