1. Onbekendengracht
This street (and canal) lies behind Carré. The canal the street runs along was dug as a diversion of the Nieuwe Achtergracht. Because this diversion meant the Nieuwe Achtergracht could no longer be seen from the Amstel, it became known as the Onbekendengracht (the Unknown Canal). After the war, residents tried to get the name changed, but the city council turned a deaf ear.
2. Teleportboulevard
Various companies are based in the area around Sloterdijk station. Although the word 'boulevard' suggests a lot of grandeur, there is none to be found on this one-way street, which ends at the tax office. The office district in which the Teleportboulevard forms the central axis has always kept its 'working title' Teleport, which it was given when it was built in the late 1980s. The plans for the area were more ambitious than the site that was eventually realised. From 2021 onwards, the business park is increasingly becoming a residential area.
3. Heer Halewijnstraat
A remarkable street name, and certainly one with an equally remarkable origin. It refers to a song that tells the gruesome yet fascinating tale of a murderer of women who ultimately meets his own end because he is killed by a woman. This murderer, Heer Halewijn (Lord Halewijn), sings a song with which he seduces women. Curious about the song? You can check the lyrics here.
4. Rusland
Many University of Amsterdam students will certainly know the street: on the Wallen side of the city centre lies Rusland (Russia). Around the corner on the Kloveniersburgwal, the university had a building for a long time. Although the link with Russia is quickly made, the name has little to do with it. The first mention appears in a deed from 1403, but back then it was written as 'Willem Ruusschentuin'. The name then evolved via ''t Ruyssenlandt', ''t Russeland' and ''t Ruslant' into Rusland. You could say the name has been stripped down quite a bit.
5. Baarsjesweg
Perhaps not one you would expect in this list: but do you have any idea what the Baarsjes was? The name is taken from an inn that stood in an area known as early as 1650 as '3 Baersjens' or '3 Bersis'. The inn was called 'De Drie Baarsjes' (The Three Little Perch) and was located on the Kostverlorenvaart, a waterway that still exists. The inn itself is no longer there; it was demolished in the mid-1950s, by which time no beer had been poured there for a very long time...
