Sarphatipark

This diverse little park was named after Samuel Sarphati (1813–66), a Jewish doctor, businessman and urban innovator. The grounds are a mix of ponds, gently rolling meadows and wooded fringes. In the centre you’ll see the Sarphati memorial (1886), a bombastic temple with a fountain, gargoyles and a bust of the great man himself. Water is pumped to the fountain via an underground pipe from a canal hundreds of metres away. Sarphati’s diverse projects (waste- disposal service, slaughterhouse, factory for cheap bread, trades schools, the Amstel Hotel and a mortgage bank) exasperated the dour city council, though many of these ventures survive to this day.