Waag, Amsterdam

The Waag

The Waag ("weigh house") is a 15th-century building on Nieuwmarkt square in Amsterdam. It was originally a city gate and part of the walls of Amsterdam. Later it served as a guildhall, museum, fire station and anatomical theatre, among other things.

The Waag is the oldest remaining non-religious building in Amsterdam.[1] The building was listed as a national monument (rijksmonument) in 1970.[2]

The Waag is depicted in Rembrandt's 1632 painting The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp. The surgeons' guild commissioned this painting for their guildhall in the Waag.