From City Gate to Weigh House
The building on Nieuwmarkt that now houses Restaurant-Café In de Waag began as a fortified city gate known as the Sint Antoniespoort, Saint Anthony's Gate. A gable stone dates the structure to 1488, though architectural evidence points to construction as early as 1425, when Amsterdam expanded and the canal now known as the Singel was dug as its new moat. The gate formed part of the medieval city walls, controlling access to the city and the movement of goods through it.
As Amsterdam outgrew its old fortifications and its canal ring pushed the city boundary outward, the gate lost its defensive role and was converted, from 1617, into the public weigh house, or Waag, serving the city's rapidly growing trade. An inner courtyard was added in 1617 and 1618, and the upper floors were taken over by several of the city's craft guilds, including surgeons, painters, blacksmiths and masons, each with rooms allotted to their own use. The building continued as a weigh house until around 1819, after which it took on a series of other roles, including use as a museum during parts of the 20th century.
A Gothic Landmark
Architecturally, the Waag is a rare surviving example of civic Gothic building in Amsterdam, a city whose older defensive structures were mostly cleared away as it expanded; its massive corner towers and thick stone walls still recall its original defensive purpose. It is recognised as the oldest non-religious building in the city and was designated a national monument in 1970. After standing empty between 1989 and 1994, it was restored and reopened with new uses for both floors.
A Candlelit Interior
Inside, the restaurant's dining rooms are lit largely by candlelight rather than electric fixtures, an approach that plays on the building's medieval stonework and vaulted ceilings rather than working against them. The warm, flickering light picks out the stone arches and groin vaults, giving the interior an atmosphere distinct from a conventional restaurant setting.
The Waag Today
The ground floor now operates as Restaurant-Café In de Waag, open from early morning for breakfast and coffee through to dinner and drinks, and able to seat everything from individual guests to larger groups. Its meeting rooms, overlooking the Nieuwmarkt, are used for business gatherings and private events, and since September 2010 the building has also been licensed as an official wedding venue, allowing couples to marry within the same walls that once housed the city's weigh house and guild rooms. The upper floors, meanwhile, are home to Waag Society, a foundation working on technology, art and cultural experimentation. Between the two, the building continues to combine its medieval fabric with active, contemporary use rather than standing as a preserved relic alone.