The Prins Hendrikkade
The broad street at the southern end of the Oosterdok is called the Prince Hendrikkade. From the Northside of the Waalseiland it continues along the water till the Stationsplein, the great place in front of the central station. The designation for this important traffic artery was changed around 1878 from "de Buitenkant* to Prins Hendrikkade. Prince Hendrik of the Netherlands (1820 - 1879) being a son of King William II. For the moment there are important roadworks going on at the level of the Odebrug, the bridge leading over the water to the beginning of the Oosterdokseiland.
Monument of Prins Hendrik
at the street bearing his name
The Prins Hendrikkade was widened in 1939 to create more space as a commercial quay. This also made it easier to handle the increased car traffic. This widening created a distinction between the high and low quays. There was now a gentle gradient between the two. The low quay was used for loading and unloading goods.
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The newly designed inland port, on the low quay, consisted of a total of five stone piers, four of which are still intact in terms of length and material used. Thanks to the inland shipping service, people and goods could travel on fixed routes and at fixed times for a fee. In the past, barges were more likely to be found in the city center, but as ships became larger and larger, the relatively large water of the Oosterdok offered a solution.
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The railway bridge over the former Oosterdoksluis could be raised at night. Regular barges also moored at the piers. The inland port on the Prins Hendrikkade was a hive of activity. All kinds of goods were temporarily stored under cover on the lower quay. In the 1960s, it was common for inland vessel captains to also carry out extended sea transport. The ships transporting goods between two seaports sailed with maximum load. This trade was also concentrated on the Oosterdok at the time.
The Prins Hendrikkade after the transformation into an upper and lower quay
The traffic situation on the Prins Hendrikkade changed radically during the 1960s. Around 1960, a bus parking lot was built, stretching into the Oosterdok and this was only the first of a series of changes to the design of the quay. A section of the Oosterdoksdam, a remnant of the former Oosterdoksdijk, was widened and repaved in early 1971 in preparation for the construction of the subway. The expansion was also intended to facilitate through traffic between the Stationsplein at the Central Station and the Prins Hendrikkade.
The widened Oosterdoksdam with the newly designed bus parking area in the 70's
The barges and the resulting extensive sea transport finally left the piers at the Prins Hendrikkade in the mid-1970s to make room for excursion boats. These, however, never moored at this location. Instead, the space that was vacated was taken up by houseboats. Barges still moored at the ends of the piers with some regularity, a situation that continued into the 1990s. The 2002 urban development plan envisaged the demolition of the Oosterdoksdam after the completion of the planned Odebrug bridge and the filling of the land on Oosterdokseiland. However, more than a decade would pass before the dam was actually demolished.
Birdseye view of the Oosterdok and the Oosterdokseiland in 1987
In the bottom left corner is the Prins Hendrikkade on the edge of the Waalseiland, with the piers that had been used for inland shipping. Due to massive interventions, such as the completion of the IJ tunnel in 1968, dividing the water surface into two halves, a lot of open water in the Oosterdok was lost. However, there are plans to increase the city's connection to the water of the IJ.
The location of the Oosterdok and the Oosterdokseiland on a contemporary map