Torensluis Bridge

You are standing on the Torensluis, the oldest bridge in Amsterdam to survive in its original state, built in 1648. What strikes you is its width, about 42 metres, more like a square than a bridge. There is a reason for it: a tower of the old city wall, the Jan Roodenpoortstoren, once stood here.

1The tower of cells

In 1617 the tower was given a spire with a clock and carillon, probably designed by Hendrick de Keyser, and it reached almost 55 metres in height. But its upper part had another use: it served as a prison. In 1829 the impoverished city decided it was too expensive to maintain and pulled it down. What was not pulled down was the base.

Beneath your feet are the cells where prisoners were locked up.

The dungeons in the base of the tower are still inside the bridge abutment, right below you. They have been restored and now open from time to time for exhibitions and events. Since 2003 the outline of the tower's foundations has been marked in the paving, so you can walk over its footprint.

2An uncomfortable writer

Since 1987 the bridge has been presided over by a bust of Multatuli, the pen name of Eduard Douwes Dekker, made by Hans Bayens. In 1860 he published 'Max Havelaar', a novel denouncing the abuses of the colonial system in Java that shook the Dutch conscience. His pen name is Latin for 'I have suffered much'.

3What to look out for

• The lines in the paving that trace the plan of the vanished tower.
• The bust of Multatuli, with his defiant gaze.
• The arches of the bridge, seen from the Singel embankment: the cells are behind them.