Jan van Galenstraat
5051- Opened
- 1 June 1997
- Level
- Elevated
- District
- Nieuw-West
- lines
- 50 51
Where does the name come from?
The station is named after Jan van Galenstraat, which honours Commodore Jan (Johan) van Galen (c. 1604-1653), who fought at sea for the Dutch Republic.
The story
Named after the hero of Livorno
Jan van Galen was born around 1604 in Essen and fought in the Eighty Years' War and the First Anglo-Dutch War. Strictly speaking he was never a navy officer: he was employed by the Amsterdam admiralty directorate. In March 1653 his fleet attacked and destroyed part of the English Mediterranean fleet off Livorno. During the battle a cannonball shattered his lower right leg. The leg was amputated below deck while Van Galen continued to direct the fight. Ten days later he died of wound fever in Livorno.
The metro station on the street that bears his name opened in 1997 with the Ring Line. It has one island platform with two tracks. Tram 13 stops by the main entrance, and nearby are the OLVG West hospital, formerly the Sint Lucas Andreas Hospital, and the Jan van Galen sports hall. Since March 2019 line 51 has called here as well as line 50.
In 1653 Jan van Galen kept directing the sea battle off Livorno after a cannonball had shattered his leg.
Comments
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