On the island of Uilenburg, which lies to the east of Amsterdam’s city centre, stands the Uilenburgersjoel; one of the oldest and most tangible reminders of the Jewish proletariat and the Jewish quarter of Amsterdam. From the end of the 17th century, impoverished Jews from Eastern Europe began to make their home on the newly developed islands of the expanding city, one of which was Uilenburg.
The island, which was constructed in 1593, was connected to the rest of the world by four bridges. Two of these crossed the Montelbaens Burchwal, the current Oude Schans. As the island became more and more densely built upon, the population increased. Huge extended families were crammed together in noisy, airless, unhygienic spaces which were far too small for them, and as a result people often lived and worked for the most part on the street.
Because of these dreadful living conditions, Uilenburg was largely redeveloped at the beginning of the 20th century. Almost all of the buildings which dated from the 17th century were demolished. Only the eastern perimeter of the island, where typical Amsterdam industries such as shipyards, warehouses and two diamond cutting businesses occupied the waterfront, remained intact.
A synagogue within a house was established on Uilenburg on 2 September 1724, but this quickly became too small. In 1765 it was decided to build a new synagogue on the same spot, and this came into use on 29 Augustus 1766. The upper hall was reserved for religious observance. The ground floor was divided into two rooms, which were initially used for the celebration of weddings. The kitchens were in the basement, where there was also a ritual space for the slaughtering of fowls.
The building was originally only accessible from the Koning Davidgang, formerly the Brandewijngang. In 1906, an open area was created in front of the synagogue following the demolition of a number of houses, and it no longer faced onto the Kokshofje on the Uilenburgerstraat, or, as stated in other documents, onto the Agterstraat in Uilenburg. The building is currently hidden behind a high wall with a gate. The synagogue remained in use throughout the Second World War until 1943. After that it was closed up and largely stripped of any contents of value. After the war the building stood empty. It became derelict, and was sold to the municipal authorities of Amsterdam for 75,000 guilders in 1957.
In mid-2007, a covenant was set up between the Municipality of Amsterdam and the Uilenburgersjoel Foundation, in which it was agreed that the building would be handed over to the Uilenburgersjoel Foundation. This transfer has – with the goodwill and cooperation of the Municipality of Amsterdam – since taken place.