The bakery at the Gasthuismolensteeg

Gerrit Hendrik Broekman (dutch link) came from Melle in Germany to Amsterdam before 1786. In that year he marries Maria Bruijn. At his marriage he is living in the Gasthuismolensteeg, a small street in the heart of Amsterdam. Maria is living at the same address.

The name Gasthuismolensteeg means the alley to the mill of the hospital. It ran from the Dam to what used to be the Jan Roden Poort Where the hospital was, I am not sure. The Jan Roden Poort is where the Westerkerk now stands.
Nowadays this street is the small street between the two canals in the middle of the map. It seems that at various times different pieces of the street had different names, and that it extended more or less far.

Gerrit was a bread baker (other bakery specialties are pastry baker and  ryebread baker). His bakery was in the same street, they were probably living above the bakery. His son Gerrit Lucas, also a bread baker, is listed in an 1820 (see illustration) and an 1839-40 directory. The entry in 1839 reads:

Broekman (G. L.) Korte Gasthuismolensteeg, Broodbakker

Lucas Bruijn, Maria’s father, was also a breadbaker. His wife Sara Portielje bought the bakery in 1786 from the estate of her uncle Mathijs Lits. She was a widow at the time, as Lucas had died in 1782. The description is “bread bakery and yard, next to the corner house at the Singel.” Clearly she bought it for her daughter and son-in-law.

Mathijs Lits had bought it in 1761 from the estate of the Calkoen family. Multiple parts of this family owned the place, and they had owned it since 1657, when Willem Calkoen bought a house and yard from Magnus Davidsz. Willem must have had six children, as 1/6 parts of the house are sold by various family members as the time goes by. It is always described as a house, not a bakery, until it is sold to Matthijs Lits.

Mostly it is described as “house and yard, located at Gasthuismolensteeg Southside, next to the corner house at the Singel.” In 1701 however the description is a bit more specific

a house and yard, located in the Gasthuismolensteeg, between the Singel and the Achterburgwal, in which a bread baker is living

This places the house on the southside of the Gasthuismolensteeg, between the Singel and what is now the Spuistraat. Unfortunately, it no longer seems to exist.  The whole block is occupied by the Center for Mathematics and Computer Science of the University of Amsterdam.

Some older maps, with links to the complete map:

	1585 Map (Link to complete map) The Jan Roden Gate is #34, the street runs from there to the Stadhuijs
	1737 Map (Link to complete map) #113 is the Gasthuijsmolensteeg, #141 the Korte Gasthuijsmolensteeg
	1795 Map (Link to complete map) #38 is the Gasthuijsmolensteeg, #87 the Korte Gasthuijsmolensteeg
	1842 Map (Link to complete map) #68 is the Gasthuismolensteeg, #134 the Korte Gasthuismolensteeg