We are now going to finish our tour at yet another square in Amsterdam - Nieuwmarkt - the new market. This square is not in de Wallen, but in Chinatown, so you can see a lot of oriental restaurants in here. At the very end of our tour we offer you to watch a short trailer of a documentary about two most famous prostitutes of Red Light District 70-year-old twin sisters Louise and Martine Fokkens. They tell their life stories and also comment on the current situation in Red Light District. They are truly honest and humorous ladies, we hope you will enjoy this video. Now you have visited de Wallen and seen what it has to offer. De Wallen does not restrain itself to being just the prostitution centre, but it surely is the most vivid and attractive place for visitors.
Photo De Waag Nieuwmarkt Amsterdam by Gouwenaar is licensed under  CC0 1.0

This is a special area of Red Light District. Streets to your right are called Bloedstraat, Monnikenstraat, - The Blood of Christ Street and Monk's Street. In Medieval times most of Amsterdam monasteries (that was over 30) were located in what's now Red Light District. So the names of the streets preserved from the old times, even though the surroundings have changed.One of the small streets that is parallel to the canal couple years ago was referred to as Blue Jeans Alley. The story behind it is rather curious. So once there was a girl working here who, tired of the standard bikini or lingerie, decided to go for blue jean shorts. The girl become very popular, and in no time half of the ladies on these streets were wearing the same kind of outfit. Here is a little bit of successful marketing in the world of prostitution.In these streets a lot of Asian girls work ,but also corner of Oudezijds Acherburgwal and Bloedstraat is considered transsexual corner. Please do a quiz in our menu to figure if there are any men in Red Light District.
Photo Boedstraat - The Blood Street by Christopher Elison is licensed under CC BY 2.0

On the left hand side of the canal you can see one of Amsterdam Sex Theatres and indisputably the most famous one - Casa Rosso. You could also cross the bridge and come closer to see the program of the night and the posters. Watch out for little pink elephants on the sides on canopy - they might pee on you!Sex Theatre does not provide the guests with prostitution services, instead there are actors performing on stage. Basically, acting comes down to people having sex on stage, guests are always asked to participate to the extend they are comfortable with.Sex theatres and prostitutes supplement each other very well - those who do not dare to visit prostitutes, go to the theatre; and those who get excited at the theatre - go to prostitutes.Please do a quiz in our menu to find out more about Casa Rosso.
Photo Casa Rosso 1 by Targje is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

While you are walking along the canal we would like to give you some more insight into the life of Red Light District. The city as vibrant and lively as Amsterdam is never static, it keeps changing. And Red Light District being a part of it is also changing. A few years ago a then mayor of Amsterdam Job Cohen suggested that this area should host fashion designers as well as prostitutes. Therefore, some windows were closed and given to young, adventurous and fashion forward designers. As you walk along Oudezijds Acherburgwal you will see small fashion shops right next to the windows with girls. Designers are positive that such close vicinity benefits both parties and adds to the image of the city as a whole. Moreover, historically this area was also inhabited by weavers and tailors, so this close neighboring would not be foreign.Amsterdam indeed is the city with an edge where new style fashion adjoins the old style prostitution windows as mannequins stand side by side with prostitutes. Please continue your walk along the canal.
Photo Erotica by Emilio Labrador is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Now Waalse Church is open to public, holds regular Sunday services and also hosts various concerts. In our menu you can find some photos of the interior of the church. Take a moment in front of the church to listen to its history.Waalse Kerk or Walloon Church is an old French Catholic church that was ordained here, in Amsterdam in the beginning of 15th century. Later on, during the Reformation period it was turned into a Protestant one. It continued to be a rather small parish church until the end of 17th century when the large amounts of French Protestants – Huguenots – got expelled from France and took their refuge in Amsterdam. They lived nearby in an area now called Jordaan (from "jardin" - garden in French), so Waalse Kerk grew and flourished upon their arrival.There is a peculiar and rather dramatic story that took place in this church. In 1775 French baker’s servant nearly shot a minister. The servant was in love with the daughter of a local wealthy merchant who was strongly advised against this wedding by the minister. So the guy, outraged as he was, bursted into the church during the mass and fired a bullet at the minister. The latter did not get killed, but he fell on the ground and got severely injured. After the recovery he made sure to get the unfortunate lover imprisoned.Another important historical fact about this Waalse Kerk is that Vincent Van Gogh himself attended the services in this church in 1870.
Photo Waalse Kerk (Delft)3 by Chris06 is licensed under CC0 1.0

While you are standing at the bridge looking around, we will give you an insight into contemporary issues that are important for Red Light District.The relatively recent legalization of prostitution eliminated some problems, but at the same time created new ones. It led to a dramatic increase in human trafficking, pimping, violence, drug abuse and money laundry in this sector. Therefore, in 2006-2007 the city initiative was to close about half of all windows in the area. Job Cohen (then mayor of Amsterdam) explained that even though he was very much for Red Light District, it is too difficult to control and so it has to be reduced. Government then bought about 20 buildings in the area in order to create a different establishment, such as new cafes and bars, designer shops and upscale living premises. Such actions on the authorities' part were taken really badly by the community. It resulted in numerous demonstrations proclaiming the integrity of Red Light District. Prostitutes themselves were also very much concerned, for they would have to leave Red Light District and go work in the streets. This would be much less safe and more difficult to control and cause the problems government tried to avoid.At the end, the amount of windows was reduced but not as much as initially was planned. So now tourists and locals can still enjoy Red Light District in its entirety. In our menu you can watch video showing a project again human trafficking that took place a couple years back. It is a powerful video. Video is courtesy of STOP THE TRAFFIK.org
Photo Slave Trade by Nina Jean is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

They say prostitution is one of the oldest professions in the world. Here in Amsterdam it also goes back for centuries. All in all, prostitution development in Netherlands was quite similar to its development in other European countries, yet the outcome is dramatically different.During the Middle Ages the attitude towards prostitution was dual - on the one hand, it was considered necessary, in order to protect chaste women of the community; on the other hand, it was referred to as completely dishonest profession for women with no honor. In the 16th century views on prostitution became much more strict because of Protestant influence. Later on, however, the moralities had loosened up, and despite the official prohibitions, prostitution was prospering in Amsterdam. Initially brothels were very common, but they soon developed into gambling houses and musico's. These offered more luxurious and exuberant establishment where clients could amuse themselves talking and dancing with the ladies.Beginning of 19th century brought more stringent public morals and Napoleon. Napoleon implemented prostitution regulation system in France and also in the occupied countries. So here in the Netherlands prostitutes had to be registered by the police and had weekly health checks. However, once Napoleon was gone so were these regulations. After that, throughout 19th century, prostitution was seen as slavery, exploitation of women and undermining female rights. Various societies believed that ladies are to be saved from working as prostitutes. Some women working in this industry did not want to be saved though. This discussion had been going on for some time and by 20th century prostitution regulation practically disappeared. Over the course of last century the prostitution was becoming more and more official and in the year 2000 a ban for brothels was revoked and prostitution became officially completely legal.
Photo Joachim Beuckelaer - Brothel - Walters 371784 by Joachim Beuckelaer is licensed under public domain

Now to your right you will see two very narrow streets - Trompettersteeg and Dollebegijnensteeg. The first one is the narrowest street in Amsterdam, it is so narrow, you might easily mistake for a bar entrance. However, this is where the most fine and beautiful Amsterdam prostitutes are hiding. The intimate atmosphere of the place allows ladies to negotiate easier with the potential clients avoiding touristy crowd of the main arteries. It is also a matter of status to be working here. So since the rooms here are very difficult to find, some girls work "rotating" - which means they would take up any opening that comes along - in case of someone's sickness or any other matter. So from day to day they might be working in different rooms. Mostly white women work here.If you are taking this tour during the day, then most of the windows will be closed in these two streets. Anyways, if you would like, you could take a short detour to have a look yourself. Just please make sure to come back to the same spot. The tour will continue on from here down the canal.
Photo Red Light District by Valdiney Pimenta is licensed under CC BY 2.0

On your way try not to miss a small bronze relief embedded into the pavement nearby the church wall. It depicts a hand caressing a breast and evidently stands for the women working in Red Light District. It is quite peculiar that no one knows who the sculptor is, since the relief was once just left here at night. Once a year the sculptor takes it back for maintenance and cleaning and then places right back. Over the course of last 15 years the same unknown artist has left a certain number of works around the city of Amsterdam.This relief is one of the landmarks that define Red Light District.The relief is located right next the entrance to Oude Kerk. Keep on walking around the church until you reach the canal in front of you. Then please turn right onto the canal and continue the tour.
Photo Bronze relief Oudekerksplein Amsterdam by Stacey B is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Here you can see a statue of prostitute standing in the window. This small monument was placed here by Mariska Majoor the founder of the Prostitution Centre that we just passed in 2007 in honour of the women working in sex industry in Amsterdam and all over the world. Interestingly enough, the statue was made after Mariska herself who was posing for the sculptor. Mariska hopes that this statue will be standing here forever. Continue your way around the church.
Photo Amsterdam Els Rijerse Belle (2007) by FaceMePLS is licensed under CC BY 2.0