Waterlooplein

The square, and so the station, is named after the Battle of Waterloo of 1815. The square was laid out in 1882 by filling in the Leprozengracht and Houtgracht canals. In a 1968 metro plan the station was still called Stadhuis (City Hall).

Glowing footsteps beneath the Stopera

The Waterlooplein was created in 1882 and from 1893 became a daily market for Jewish traders from the surrounding streets, closed on Saturdays for the Sabbath. During the Second World War the neighbourhood's Jewish residents were deported and murdered; by 1941 the market had gone. After the war the area declined and the square became a flea market, which now has around 300 stalls.

When houses had to make way for the metro in the 1970s, resistance here was weaker than at the Nieuwmarkt, as many buildings were in poor shape. On 11 October 1980 the tunnel from Waterlooplein to Centraal Station opened, and with it this station, whose platform lies 12 metres down. Construction of the new city hall, the Stopera, began just before work on the station; two entrances lead straight to it.

The art stands out. Willem Sandberg designed Waterloo: blue and red letters on the platform walls, built from simple shapes with frayed edges. It was kept during the 2016 renovation because of its cultural and historical value. In one of the station halls lies Sporen van verlichte voetstappen (Traces of illuminated footsteps) by Dirk Müller: plexiglass footprints that light up one after another.