Object description

The Schreierstoren , originally part of the medieval city wall of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, was built in the 15th century. It was the location from which Henry Hudson set sail on his journey to Northern America. This expedition would lead to the discovery of the island of Manhattan among others. It was built as a defense tower in 1487. It is currently a café and nautical bookstore. The old name was 'Schreyhoeckstoren' meaning in old Dutch the sharp angle of the tower with the once connected citywalls. Later they started calling it in short the Schreierstoren.