The Weepers Tower, Amsterdam — Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

The Schreierstoren, known in English as the Weepers Tower, stands on the edge of Amsterdam's old harbour, and its name is one of the city's most charming misunderstandings.

The popular legend says this is where the wives of sailors gathered to weep as their husbands departed on long and dangerous voyages. It's a beautiful story, and tour guides love telling it. But it's not true. The name actually comes from the Old Dutch word "schrey," meaning "sharp angle," referring to the tower's position at a sharp corner where two canals meet. Over time, people confused it with "schreien," the Dutch word for "weeping," and the myth was born.

What is true is that the tower was built in 1487 as a defensive fortification in Amsterdam's medieval city wall. When the city expanded beyond its walls in the late 16th century, most of the wall was demolished, but the Schreierstoren survived. It's the last completely preserved tower from the medieval city wall.

The tower does have a genuine connection to sailors, though. A stone tablet on the wall commemorates Henry Hudson, who departed from this spot in 1609 aboard the Halve Maen (Half Moon) and sailed on to discover what would become New Amsterdam, later renamed New York.

Today, the tower houses the VOC Café, where you can sit and drink in a space that's been watching the harbour for over 500 years. If you're on a Questo quest through Amsterdam, this tower and its layers of truth and legend might hold a challenge worth solving.