This Doorway is a National Monument of The Netherlands

On Smedestraat, a shopping street in the historic center of Haarlem, in the Netherlands, is an unusual national monument. It’s not a house, church, or public building, but a 17th-century brick gateway with a wooden door. Its significance lies in both its architectural details and what it reveals about the historic urban fabric of Haarlem.

The gateway dates from the second half of the 17th century and is protected because it preserves a rare and attractive example of period brickwork. The most distinctive feature is the blind circular window (a decorative round opening that is not actually a window) incorporated into the masonry above the archway.

The doorway. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Unlike many Dutch monuments that are valued for their overall building design, Smedestraat 33 is protected primarily because of this surviving architectural fragment. The finely executed brickwork and decorative blind oculus are considered worthy examples of 17th-century urban craftsmanship. The Rijksmonumenten Register specifically identifies the gateway itself, not an entire building, as the monument.

The gateway originally served as an open passageway between two houses, leading to an alley connected with the small garden known as the Wijngaardtuin. In historic Dutch cities, such alleys provided access to rear properties and upper-floor dwellings.

Over time, many such passages disappeared as ground floors were converted into shops and commercial premises. Smedestraat 33 survived this process, making it an important reminder of Haarlem's historic street layout.

However, local authorities now consider these locked doorways possible fire hazard and efforts have been made in recent years to "unlock" these inaccessible spaces and make them suitable for student or other rental housing. 

References:
# Dutch Rijksmonumenten Register entry (Monument No. 19695). Rijksmonumenten.nl
# Smedestraat 33 (Haarlem). Wikipedia