Houthaven 2.88

The Houthaven is a neighborhood of the city of Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. Literally meaning 'lumber port', the Houthaven is a port situated along the IJ river in Amsterdam's western port. It is bordered by a dam in the IJ river to the north and the Spaarndammerbuurt in the south. It is currently predominantly used by inland barges, however plans are in motion to radically change the area in the next few years by building a new residential area on seven artificial islands.The harbour is made up out of four parts ; Oude Houthaven, Houthaven, Nieuwe Houthaven and Minervahaven . This is why the Houthaven is also referred to as the Houthavens .HistoryThe Houthaven was dug out in 1876, together with the North Sea Canal. It was the first port in Amsterdam to be dug out (the earlier ones using existing waters). Its purpose was to tranship and store lumber. As lumber was increasingly transported by road, parts of the port were filled up with sand to be used for other purposes in 1945. The Minervahaven remained in use for lumber transhipment and wood processing industry was located there but port-related activities decreased strongly over time. The area is currently being redeveloped.