In former days the cloth weaving mills were situated here, where wool was stretched after washing, carding, spinning, weaving and painting on wooden frames (the so-called 'lakenramen') to dry and stretch.
The Raamgracht is located in the former Jewish Quarter of Amsterdam. During the Second World War many Jewish residents of the Raamgracht were taken to the concentration camps and did not survive the war.
Near the Raamgracht is the Zuiderkerk (Southern Church) with its ornate tower. It was the first Protestant church that was built in Amsterdam.