De ratelaar, Statue in Oud-West, Amsterdam, Netherlands
De ratelaar is a bronze statue standing at Kwakersplein in the Oud-West district of Amsterdam. The figure holds a wooden rattle and is placed on a low platform among plant beds near apartment buildings.
The piece was made by Rob Cerneüs and installed in 2007, marking one hundred thirty years of the city’s waste collection service. It also recalls Rinus Voorhaar, the last Amsterdam ratelaar, who lived nearby and died in 2010.
A small inscription on the side links the figure to the city cleaners who once walked ahead of refuse carts sounding a wooden rattle. The statue gives a visible place on the square to a street job that has vanished from daily Amsterdam life.
The square is open at all times and can be crossed on foot or by bike without any steps to reach the sculpture. Since it sits beside a residential block, early mornings and late afternoons are usually the quietest moments to stop and look.
After the rattle tradition ended in 1952, some retired workers formed a small music group and played at local events with bagpipes and other instruments. The statue therefore points not only to a lost job but also to an unusual musical afterlife among former colleagues.
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