Anne Frank spent almost her entire life in Amsterdam, and that story is still present at dozens of places across the city, from her school building to the secret annex where she wrote her diary.
Her life in this city
We know a remarkable amount about the nine years Anne lived in Amsterdam before going into hiding.
Refugees from Frankfurt: the Frank family came to Amsterdam in 1933 and 1934, fleeing the Nazis in Germany. Anne was four years old at the time.
Growing up in Zuid: she lived for nine years on the Merwedeplein in the Rivierenbuurt, went to school there and played in the street with her friends.
In hiding from 1942: on 6 July 1942 the family moved into the secret annex on the Prinsengracht, where eight people lived in hiding for over two years.
The diary:Anne received it for her thirteenth birthday and wrote in it until 1 August 1944. Her father Otto published it after the war, as the only survivor of the eight.
Read around the world:The Diary of a Young Girl has been translated into more than seventy languages and is among the most widely read books in the world.
What you see: the annex has deliberately been left empty, as Otto Frank found it after the war. You pass behind the famous revolving bookcase into the small rooms where eight people lived for over two years.
The pictures on the wall: in Anne's room the film star photographs she pasted onto the wallpaper herself are still there, preserved behind glass.
The diary itself: the modern museum wing displays the original red-checked diary and the loose notebooks in which she continued writing.
The address: the building stands at Prinsengracht 263-267, but the entrance is round the corner at Westermarkt 20, which saves searching when you arrive.
Allow an hour and a half:the museum recommends ninety minutes, including the modern exhibition wing.
Merwedeplein: the Frank family home
Before going into hiding the family lived for nine years on the Merwedeplein in the Rivierenbuurt.
Their flat:Otto, Edith, Margot and Anne lived at number 37-II from 1933 until July 1942. The building was restored in 2005 to its 1930s appearance.
Now a writer's residence: the flat houses writers who cannot work in their own country because of censorship or persecution. It is not open to the public.
The statue on the square: a small bronze statue of Anne by Jet Schepp has stood on the Merwedeplein since 2005, showing her as she would have looked walking here as a girl.
An ordinary neighbourhood: that is exactly what makes it striking. This is a quiet residential area where children play in the street, just as Anne did here.
Her schools
Two school buildings from her life still stand, and together they show how quickly her world changed.
The Montessori school: the 6th Montessori School stood at Niersstraat 41, where Anne was a pupil from 1934 to 1941. It has carried her name since 1957 and is still in use.
The Jewish Lyceum: from September 1941 Jewish children had to attend separate schools. Anne went to the Jewish Lyceum on the Stadstimmertuinen, where she met Jacqueline van Maarsen, the friend who appears in her diary.
What that meant: for many Jewish children the forced move in 1941 was the first moment exclusion became concrete. Both buildings still stand and can be seen from the outside.
The Westerkerk and the statue
Two places a stone's throw from the annex, both free to visit.
The bell she heard: from the annex Anne could see the tower of the Westerkerk. She wrote in her diary that the sound of the bell actually reassured her, while it bothered the others.
Climbing the tower: the Westertoren can be climbed with a guide in season and offers views across the canal ring, including the roof of the annex.
The statue: the bronze statue of Anne Frank by Mari Andriessen has stood on the Westermarkt since 1977. It is freely accessible and there are almost always flowers laid at its foot.
After the arrest
What happened after 4 August 1944 took place at addresses that are no longer recognisable as such today.
The Euterpestraat: after the raid the family was taken to the headquarters of the Sicherheitsdienst, in the school building on what was then the Euterpestraat in Zuid. Since 1945 the street has been called Gerrit van der Veenstraat, after the resistance fighter held prisoner there.
The remand prison: several days at the Weteringschans followed. That prison was demolished in 1968; the Max Euweplein now occupies the site, close to Leidseplein.
By way of Westerbork: on 8 August 1944 the family travelled by train to Westerbork camp in Drenthe, and on 3 September came the last transport from the Netherlands to Auschwitz.
Only Otto returned: of the eight people in hiding, only Anne's father survived the war. Anne and Margot died at Bergen-Belsen in early 1945, shortly before the camp was liberated.
The diary survived:Miep Gies had kept the notebooks without reading them. The diary was published in 1947, at Otto's initiative.
Anne Frank route through Amsterdam
Six places that each have a demonstrable connection to her life, from her first home to the memorial where flowers are still laid daily.
Merwedeplein 37-II; 1933 to 1942
The flat where the Frank family lived for nine years after fleeing Frankfurt. Here Anne celebrated her thirteenth birthday on 12 June 1942 and received the red-checked diary. Less than a month later the family went into hiding. Her bronze statue of 2005 stands on the square.
Niersstraat 41; 1934 to 1941
The former 6th Montessori School, where Anne spent seven years and where, by her own account, she was happy. The school has carried her name since 1957 and is still in use.
Hunzestraat 244
Home of Miep Gies, the employee of Otto Frank who supplied those in hiding with food and news for over two years. After the raid she gathered the scattered notebooks from the floor and kept them unread until Otto returned after the war. Without her there would be no diary.
Stadstimmertuinen; 1941 to 1942
The building of the Jewish Lyceum, which Anne had to attend once Jewish children were no longer admitted to ordinary schools. Here she met Jacqueline van Maarsen, the friend from her diary.
Anne Frank House; 1942 to 1944
The secret annex behind the business premises at Prinsengracht 263, where Otto Frank ran his firm Opekta. It was that office that made hiding possible. The museum entrance is round the corner at Westermarkt 20 and requires a pre-booked timed slot.
Westermarkt
The 1977 statue of Anne Frank by Mari Andriessen, and the Westerkerk, whose bell she could hear from the annex. In her diary she wrote that the sound actually reassured her.
About this route
The route follows her life in chronological order, from her childhood in the Rivierenbuurt to the annex in the city centre.
Distance and duration: around 7 kilometres. Walkable in an hour and a half without stops, or a little under half an hour by bike.
Take a bike: between the Rivierenbuurt and the centre lies a stretch of more than three kilometres without any stops. A hire bike makes for a more pleasant trip.
Start and finish: you begin on the Merwedeplein in Zuid, reachable by tram 4 or 12, and end at the Westermarkt in the centre.
Plan around your timed slot: fit the route around your booked slot at the Anne Frank House, bearing in mind you will be inside for an hour and a half.
Bring the diary: reading passages where they were written makes the route considerably more affecting.
What you pass along the way: brass stumbling stones are set into the pavement at various addresses, each bearing the name of a resident deported from that door. The Rivierenbuurt has a particular concentration of them.
