Private Rotterdam Running Tour

Dr

5 min

Another surprising artistic creation in Rotterdam is the Marathonbeeld (Marathon statue) by Henk Visch. This colorful artwork shows the variety of nationalities participating in the marathon. It is a gift from the local Marathon Foundation and part of the city’s street art scene.

5 min

The houses in Rotterdam are located on Overblaak Street, right above the Blaak metro station. There are 38 small cubes and two so called 'super-cubes', all attached to each other.
As residents are disturbed so often by curious passers-by, one owner decided to open a "show cube", which is furnished as a normal house, and is making a living out of offering tours to visitors.

Markthal

5 min

Modern complex with a covered market and several restaurants under an arch of apartments.

Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk

5 min

The Grote or Sint-Laurenskerk, often simply referred to as Laurenskerk, is a Gothic church building in Rotterdam. It is the only remnant of the medieval Rotterdam city center. The current church is a cross between a hall church and a cross basilica. In one of the exhibition chapels, the church still has a button capital of its predecessor, a two-aisled hall church without a choir and tower. The church is dedicated to Laurentius of Rome, the patron of Rotterdam.

5 min

The Rotte is a peat river in the Dutch province of South Holland. The river serves as a reservoir that drains excess water from the polders north of Rotterdam under the management of the Schieland and Krimpenerwaard Water Board. The city of Rotterdam takes its name from this river.

City Hall Rotterdam

5 min

The town hall on the Coolsingel in Rotterdam was built between 1914 and 1920 to a design by Henri Evers. It is one of the few buildings in the center of Rotterdam that survived the bombing of May 14, 1940.

Erasmus Bridge

5 min

The 284 meter long cable-stayed bridge has a 139 meter high kinked asymmetrical steel pylon. The bridge owes its nickname "De Zwaan" to this. Between the Kop van Zuid and the pylon there is an 89 meter long bascule bridge for ships that cannot pass under the cable-stayed bridge.

Loods 24

5 min

Loods 24 was a port warehouse on the site of the Municipal Commercial Establishments between the Binnenhaven and the Spoorweghaven in Rotterdam. The shed was used for the storage of tobacco. During the Second World War it was used by the Germans as a meeting place for the deportation of Jews.
In 1941, 11,000 Jews still lived in Rotterdam. Before the war this was 13,000. Between July 30, 1942 and April 22, 1943, 6,790 people were deported via Loods 24 in 8 transports. The majority of the Jews who were deported via Loods 24 were murdered in Sobibór and Auschwitz-Birkenau. Research in 2000 showed that 144 people survived the deportations.

De Hef

5 min

De Hef is the popular name for the Koningshavenbrug, a railway lift bridge over the Koningshaven in Rotterdam that has been decommissioned for rail traffic since 24 September 1993. The bridge formed part of the Breda - Rotterdam railway line.

Oude Haven

5 min

The Oudehaven is one of the oldest ports in Rotterdam, in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is located in the center of the city, southeast of Rotterdam Blaak station.

The Markthal

5 min

The Blaaktoren is a residential tower on the Binnenrotte near the Blaak in Rotterdam. The striking pointed roof gives the building its more famous nickname "The Pencil". It is one of the more striking buildings in Rotterdam and forms a landmark in the city with the adjacent cube houses.

Witte Huis

5 min

The White House is a building in Rotterdam that was the first skyscraper in Rotterdam. It is also considered by some to be the first skyscraper in Europe (although that title is also awarded to the Boerentoren in Antwerp). In 1940 it was one of the few buildings in the city center to withstand the bombing of Rotterdam. In the 1990s it was restored to its original state as much as possible (facades and roof).

Witte de Withstraat

5 min

Witte de Withstraat is a nightlife street in Rotterdam with cafes, restaurants, art galleries, various shops and municipal monuments. The street connects Schiedamse Vest with Eendrachtsweg. The street was named in 1871 after the Rotterdam fleet guardian Witte Cornelisz. de With (1599 - 1658).

The Destroyed City

5 min

The destroyed city is an image that Ossip Zadkine made as a result of the bombing of Rotterdam. It was unveiled on May 15, 1953 and is located on Plein 1940, at the Leuvehaven, next to the Maritime Museum in Rotterdam. The statue is a national monument.
It is said that Zadkine got the inspiration for the image The destroyed city when he was on his way from Paris to his friend, the doctor Hendrik Wiegersma in Deurne, Netherlands. When the train drove over the air track through Rotterdam, he saw the obliterated center of the city.