't Kleine Loopveld
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| 't Kleine Loopveld | |
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 't Kleine Loopveld in July 2013 | |
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| Type | Linear urban green space and ecological corridor |
| Location | Buitenveldert, Amsterdam-Zuid, Netherlands |
| Coordinates | 52°19′21″N 4°52′39″E / 52.32250°N 4.87750°ECoordinates: 52°19′21″N 4°52′39″E / 52.32250°N 4.87750°E Fatal error: The format of the coordinate could not be determined. Parsing failed. |
| Area | 16.5 ha (41 acres) |
| Operated by | City of Amsterdam |
| Facilities | Walking paths and nature areas |
't Kleine Loopveld is a linear park along the southern edge of Buitenveldert in Amsterdam-Zuid, Netherlands. Most of it lies immediately north of the Kalfjeslaan, which forms the municipal boundary between Amsterdam and Amstelveen in this area. It covers approximately 16.5 ha (41 acres).[1]
The green strip has both recreational and ecological functions. It forms part of a green corridor along the southern edge of Buitenveldert between the Amstelscheg and the Amsterdamse Bos. Through adjoining green spaces and waterways, it is also connected at its eastern end with the Amstelpark.[2]
Location
't Kleine Loopveld extends from east to west along the northern side of the Kalfjeslaan. The municipality of Amstelveen begins immediately south of the road. The green strip therefore forms both the southern edge of Buitenveldert and a transition between the urban fabric of Amsterdam and the greener landscape of Amstelveen and the Amstelscheg.[2]
The area is crossed at several points by north–south routes between Buitenveldert and Amstelveen, including the Buitenveldertselaan. Waterways run alongside and through parts of the park. Bridges connect different sections and accommodate the north–south routes.
At its eastern end, the green structure connects through the Kalfjeslaan and Amstel area with the Amstelpark and the Amstelscheg. At its western end, the corridor continues towards the Amstelveenseweg, the Nieuwe Meer and the Amsterdamse Bos. A municipal cultural-historical study therefore identifies 't Kleine Loopveld as an important link between the two major green landscapes bordering Buitenveldert: the Amstelscheg to the east and the Amsterdamse Bos to the west.[2]
At the eastern end, at the junction of the Kalfjeslaan and Amsteldijk, is the Aemstel Schooltuin, an educational school garden. It opened in 2014 as the replacement for the former Dr L. Alma school garden on Gustav Mahlerlaan.[3]
Historical origins
The name Kleine Loopveld is much older than the present park. It originally referred to an old east–west route through the peat landscape between the Amstel and Amstelveenseweg. Strips of higher or less extensively excavated ground could be used to travel through the otherwise wet landscape. Over the centuries, the historical Kalfjeslaan and Kleine Loopveld consequently became closely associated with one another.
On historical maps the name appears in forms including 't Cleine Loopvelt. The Amsterdam City Archives contains several maps on which the Kleine Loopveld appears as a landscape boundary.[4] One map of the Middelpolder describes the area between the Amstel, Amstelveenseweg, the Grote Loopveld and the Kleine Loopveld.
The name had a counterpart in the Grote Loopveld, an old route between Amstelveen and Ouderkerk aan de Amstel. This route can now largely be recognised in the Ouderkerkerlaan.[5]
For centuries, the Kleine Loopveld lay within the territory that later became the municipality of Nieuwer-Amstel. During the major municipal annexation of 1921, the northern part of Nieuwer-Amstel was incorporated into Amsterdam and the new municipal boundary came to run along the Kalfjeslaan.[6] The present-day 't Kleine Loopveld has therefore been within Amsterdam since 1921, while the area immediately south remained part of Nieuwer-Amstel, renamed Amstelveen in 1964.
Development as a green strip
When Buitenveldert was developed in the 1950s and 1960s, a broad undeveloped strip was retained along the Kalfjeslaan. The historic landscape line was thereby incorporated into the green structure of the new post-war residential district. 't Kleine Loopveld was landscaped as a park-like green strip during the 1960s.[1]
This approach reflected the planning principles of Buitenveldert, in which residential neighbourhoods were interspersed with broad green corridors and parks. 't Kleine Loopveld formed the southern green edge of the district. Farther north, the similarly east–west-oriented Gijsbrecht van Aemstelpark was developed. Together with the Amstelpark, Amsterdamse Bos and Amstelscheg, these green spaces form an important part of the larger green framework within and around Buitenveldert.[2]
Historical aerial photographs held by the Amsterdam City Archives show how the new development of Buitenveldert expanded immediately north of the green strip during the 1960s, while 't Kleine Loopveld along the Kalfjeslaan remained largely undeveloped.[7]
Ecological corridor and nature
From the 1990s onwards, 't Kleine Loopveld acquired a more explicit ecological role. It was incorporated into the Ecolint, a network of green and aquatic corridors along the southern and eastern edges of Amsterdam. Developed in 1995–97, the ecological corridor was intended to connect fragmented habitats and improve wildlife-friendly banks and water systems.[8]
Within this corridor, 't Kleine Loopveld contains a mosaic of grassland, rough vegetation, reed beds, scrub, trees and water. The combination of dry and wet habitats supports birds, small mammals, amphibians and insects. A 2015 survey described the area as one of the more ecologically diverse green spaces in Amsterdam-Zuid. Through low-intensity grassland management, in which meadows are mown only a few times a year and the cut vegetation is removed, the number of recorded plant species had increased substantially since the 1990s.[9]
Plant species recorded in the area include southern marsh orchid, meadow clary, wild marjoram, and marsh-marigold. Reed-dwelling birds, woodpeckers and various insects also benefit from the mixture of hay meadows, woodland and wet banks.[9]
In 2013, parts of the landscape were redesigned to strengthen its ecological function. Existing ponds were modified, new ponds were created and some banks were given a more natural profile. A 2014 survey of four ponds recorded twelve species of dragonflies and damselflies.[10]
The area is also significant for bats. Research into the pond bat in Amsterdam identifies 't Kleine Loopveld as part of a network of ecological corridors and bat flight routes within and around the city.[11]
Paths and bridges
Walking paths run through and alongside 't Kleine Loopveld, together with several north–south routes for pedestrians and cyclists between Buitenveldert and Amstelveen. Because the park and Kalfjeslaan are accompanied by several waterways, bridges form an important part of these local connections.
Some of the older bridges belong to a group of concrete Amsterdam bridges carrying numbers in the 800 series. During the ecological redesign of the area, additional waterways and ponds were created, together with lighter pedestrian bridges designed to fit the more natural character of the ecological corridor.
Among these newer structures are bridges 2163, 2164, 2165 and 2166, built primarily of steel and timber.
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Bridge 2163 in the western part of 't Kleine Loopveld, October 2019 -
Bridge 2164, September 2019 -
Bridge 2165, September 2019 -
Bridge 2166, September 2019
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Surroundings
Several green spaces and sports facilities lie immediately across the municipal boundary in Amstelveen. South-east of Buitenveldert is Sportpark Het Loopveld. Its name also derives from the historic local toponyms and should not be confused with the Amsterdam green strip 't Kleine Loopveld.
The sports complex is used by a number of hockey, association football and cricket clubs. Residential districts and other green structures of northern Amstelveen adjoin the area south of the Kalfjeslaan.
At the eastern end of the Kalfjeslaan are the Amstel, the Riekermolen, Aemstel Schooltuin and Amstelpark. To the west are Amstelveenseweg and the entrance area of the Amsterdamse Bos.
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Bestemmingsplan Schoolwerktuinen Kalfjeslaan" [Kalfjeslaan school gardens zoning plan] (PDF) (in Nederlands). City of Amsterdam. 25 April 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Buitenveldert – cultuurhistorische verkenning" [Buitenveldert – cultural-historical survey] (PDF) (in Nederlands). City of Amsterdam, Monuments and Archaeology. 18 September 2025. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 August 2026. Retrieved 18 August 2026. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Aemstel Schooltuin" (in Nederlands). City of Amsterdam. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
- ↑ "Archief van de Gasthuizen – kaarten van onder meer de Middelpolder" [Hospital archives – maps including the Middelpolder] (in Nederlands). Amsterdam City Archives. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
- ↑ "Verdwenen topografische namen" [Disappeared topographical names] (in Nederlands). Vereniging Historisch Amstelveen. Archived from the original on 19 May 2026. Retrieved 18 August 2026. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Archief van de Gemeente Nieuwer-Amstel" [Archive of the Municipality of Nieuwer-Amstel] (in Nederlands). Amsterdam City Archives. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
- ↑ "Buitenveldert – luchtfoto met 't Kleine Loopveld en de Kalfjeslaan" [Buitenveldert – aerial photograph showing 't Kleine Loopveld and the Kalfjeslaan] (in Nederlands). Amsterdam City Archives. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
- ↑ Luigi Giugliano and Maarten Flikweert (2015). "Libellen en waterjuffers (Odonata) in 't Kleine Loopveld, Buitenveldert (Amsterdam): een evaluatie in 2014" [Dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) in 't Kleine Loopveld, Buitenveldert (Amsterdam): an evaluation in 2014] (in Nederlands). Retrieved 18 August 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Parken in de stad – 't Kleine Loopveld: leefgebied voor bijzondere natuur" [Parks in the city – 't Kleine Loopveld: habitat for distinctive wildlife] (PDF) (in Nederlands). Natuur&Milieuteam Zuid. 2015. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2026. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Luigi Giugliano and Maarten Flikweert (2015). "Libellen en waterjuffers (Odonata) in 't Kleine Loopveld, Buitenveldert (Amsterdam): een evaluatie in 2014" [Dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) in 't Kleine Loopveld, Buitenveldert (Amsterdam): an evaluation in 2014] (in Nederlands). Retrieved 18 August 2026.
- ↑ A.J. Haarsma; A. Blokker (2014). "Amsterdam als tippelzone voor de meervleermuis". Tussen Duin & Dijk (in Nederlands). 13 (2): 4–7. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2026. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)
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