Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Borneo orangutan
Malaysia • 12 days, 11 nights
Wild Borneo: Secrets of an Ancient Rainforest
from
Pastel de nata
Portugal • 8 days, 7 nights
Portugal: A Culinary Adventure from Porto to Lisbon
from
View all trips
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the Netherlands Leiden Israël Kiek Memorial

Israël Kiek Memorial

A memorial commemorating the man whose name became synonymous with taking a picture in the Netherlands.

Leiden, Netherlands

Added By
CoolCrab
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Kiekmonument   Biccie / CC BY-SA 3.0
Kiekmonument   Vysotsky / CC BY-SA 4.0
  CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
  CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
  CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
Photo by Kiek   Israël Kiek
Photo by Kiek   Israël Kiek
  CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Now that nearly everybody carries a camera with them in their phone, photography is ubiquitous. But there were times when taking a picture was a big deal, and required expensive and hard-to-find equipment. In these early days, people became famous for their photography skills—some to the point where their names became synonymous with their photographs. 

Israël Kiek was one of the pioneers of photography in the Netherlands, offering the service in his cigar shop starting in 1858. Kiek became particularly famous amongst students because of his willingness to take photos in the middle of the night when groups of drunken students would knock on his door. 

While he was a very sober individual who did not approve of this nonsense, he nevertheless always opened his doors for these students and allowed them to use unorthodox poses in their portraits. In his photographs you can see students standing on a ladder, sitting on the ground, or standing close to the camera making strange faces—all normal today, but bizarre back then. Kiek did not exactly approve of this behavior, and was known to take the pictures with his back turned to the clients, which added to the appeal of getting your picture taken by him. 

Likely because many of these students went on to work across the country, Kiek's name slowly became synonymous with taking a photo. People everywhere in the Netherlands still take kiekjes to this day. Oddly enough the origin of the word is forgotten by most. 

In Leiden, on the opposite side of the canal from where Kiek's old studio once stood, there now is a memorial to the man and his legacy in the form of a camera that shows some of his photos.

Related Tags

Photography Language Monuments

Know Before You Go

The memorial is freely accessible. However the camera is a bit damaged and seeing the photos inside is difficult. 

Community Contributors

Added By

CoolCrab

Edited By

Michelle Cassidy

  • Michelle Cassidy

Published

May 2, 2024

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://photofestivalleiden.com/leiden-and-photography/leiden-and-photography-israel-kiek-and-the-origins-of-the-kiekje/?lang=en
  • https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isra%C3%ABl_Kiek
Israël Kiek Memorial
2 Steenstraat
Leiden, 2312 BW
Netherlands
52.163969, 4.484598
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Oudt Leyden

Leiden, Netherlands

miles away

Café De Vergulde Kruik (The Gilded Jar Café)

Leiden, Netherlands

miles away

Leiden’s Wall Formulae

Leiden, Netherlands

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Leiden

Leiden

Netherlands

Places 45
Stories 1

Nearby Places

Oudt Leyden

Leiden, Netherlands

miles away

Café De Vergulde Kruik (The Gilded Jar Café)

Leiden, Netherlands

miles away

Leiden’s Wall Formulae

Leiden, Netherlands

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Leiden

Leiden

Netherlands

Places 45
Stories 1

Related Places

  • The “Four Horsemen of the Lines” historical marker.

    Horton, Kansas

    'Four Horsemen of the Lines' Monument

    A plaque recognizes "unquestionably the most widely published photograph in rural electrification history."

  • Sir James Murray’s letterbox

    Oxford, England

    Sir James Murray's Post Box

    A letterbox installed specifically for the first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary.

  • The park.

    Uppsala, Sweden

    Universitetshuset Runestone Circle

    A large collection of ancient runestones decorates this university courtyard.

  • Mercury House.

    Zanzibar, Tanzania

    Mercury House

    Freddie Mercury's childhood home is now a monument to the iconic Queen rockstar.

  • The Afrikaans Language Monument overlooking Paarl Valley.

    Paarl, South Africa

    Afrikaans Language Monument

    The South African dialect's complex history is immortalized in stone, in one of the world's only monuments dedicated to a language.

  • Washington, D.C.

    Daguerre Monument

    Go take a picture with the inventor of the daguerreotype photographic process.

  • Taipei, Taiwan

    Xingfu Village Monument

    A century-old monument to commemorate a crowd-funded public cemetery.

  • Front of the monument from the ground

    Rüdesheim am Rhein, Germany

    Niederwald Monument

    Hilltop monument to the victory of a new nation in the Franco-Prussian War.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.