The Magere Brug is a double wooden lifting bridge across the Amstel, linking Kerkstraat and Nieuwe Kerkstraat. Rebuilt in 1934 to a design by Piet Kramer, it preserves a familiar profile while serving as working river infrastructure.
Quick facts
The original wooden Kerkstraatbrug was built in 1691 with thirteen small vessel openings; its narrow deck gave rise to the nickname Magere Brug.
The current nine-opening profile dates to a 1934 rebuild by municipal architect Piet Kramer, who renewed the bridge in its historic style and widened its approaches.
Two bridge keepers operated the lifting mechanism by hand until automation in 1994; the change followed safety concerns raised by labor inspectors.
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Guide
The Magere Brug, or “Skinny Bridge,” crosses the Amstel between Kerkstraat and Nieuwe Kerkstraat in Amsterdam’s Centrum. Its assigned map point falls on the bridge itself. The white-painted timber outline looks old, but the current bridge was rebuilt in 1934: a working piece of infrastructure whose familiar shape was deliberately carried forward through successive rebuilds.
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