Panurbana 183 de Reus

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Panurbana 183

de Reus

Amsterdam Atlas

collage: 16 photos

format: 95 x 135 cm

Amsterdam 2023

Jan Bicker (1591-1653) was a merchant, shipowner, shipbuilder and mayor of Amsterdam.
He bought the Vooreiland in 1631 and built shipyards and warehouses there.
The name of the island quickly changed to Bickerseiland. At the head of the island,
he built a large house with three floors and a large tower.
From the tower he could see his ships entering Amsterdam from the Zuiderzee and the IJ.
On the facade of Bicker's house was the Giant - a statue representing the war god Mars - which
was made by a ship carpenter.
In 1850 the statue came into the possession of the Jonker & zn machine factory.
Due to the poor condition of the statue, a replica was built in 1951.
In 1972 the machine factory closed and the statue of Bickers Island also disappeared.
In 2006, after a search by local residents, De Reus was found again and placed back on the island in 2011.

Artist Egon Schrama (1947) designed a new pedestal for the statue,
on which lines from the poem 'the Giant' by Jan Witte are written.