Bushuissluis, Girder bridge in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Bushuissluis is a fixed girder bridge in central Amsterdam, crossing the Kloveniersburgwal canal between Oude Hoogstraat and Nieuwe Hoogstraat. The structure uses simple metal girders and stone supports, with a walkway that sits low over the water. It blends into a setting of old canal houses and narrow streets, giving it a modest, functional look.

A bridge has stood on this spot since the late 1500s, at first as a movable crossing that could open for boats. The present fixed structure dates from the early 1980s and was built to echo the appearance of an earlier iron bridge from 1892.

The name Bushuissluis points to the nearby former Bushuis, a storage building used long ago by the city guard. Today, the bridge reads as a small piece of everyday urban furniture: people cross it between shopfronts and old facades, often without a second thought.

Walkers and cyclists can cross easily, since the bridge is low and the approach from either street is level. Early mornings and late evenings are quieter times to stop and look at the canal, while midday brings a steady flow of people on foot and bicycles.

Early paintings show that the crossing once looked like a drawbridge with arches that could be lifted for shipping. What visitors see now is a quiet replacement, copied from a late-19th-century design rather than an unchanged relic.