A Stad-Groningen potkast (not to be confused with podcast) is a well house or pot house in standard Dutch. In the Ommelanden people spoke of a “pothoes”. It is a small extension or addition located in front of or next to the house. In the city it is a sunken space that partly protrudes above ground. Potkasten were already known in the Middle Ages. Originally the name was puthuis, because the potkasten were built over a collection well for rainwater. People could draw water from the basement or cellar of the house into the well house. Later, the spaces were often enlarged and changed purpose. For example, they were used as workshops for craftsmen, as storage space or as a kitchen pot cupboard in which the stilletje (comfort, privy, poop box or plee) was also located. This was usually a wooden or stone bench with a hole in it, which functioned as a primitive toilet. Underneath that seat was a beer barrel, which was emptied weekly. In the city, convenience was often in the potkast, or as the locals say “potkaaste”. This facility was very normal, until a water closet (WC) was installed after the construction of water pipes and sewage. Due to the housing shortage, potkasts, in combination with the cellar, also offered shelter as a home to poor families. Potkasts often had a slightly sloping flat roof. They could usually be reached from the inside, but there are also potkasts with only an outside entrance. A health study by family doctor Stratingh from 1858 showed that there were still 44 potkasts in the city centre at that time. “These were mainly created during the heyday and great growth of the city, just before the last expansion in 1624, due to the lack of space to build. At the end of the previous century, they were still present in large numbers along the main streets and markets, as can still be seen from plates from that time, among other things.” Until the middle of the 20th century, there was still a lot of activity to be found on the canal ring due to the mooring ships. There were also many small entrepreneurs who sold their merchandise from the pot cupboard and cellar under their house. From the early 1950s, trade via the water gradually disappeared and with it the trade from the pot cupboards. The Diepen only retained the function of a mooring place for houseboats. The old buildings became dilapidated because there was no money for maintenance. Many old buildings and pot cupboards were demolished and new buildings were built in their place. The building at Schuitendiep 42 also fell into disrepair. In 1949, the pot cupboard was removed. The municipality wanted to widen the road and saw the pot cupboard as a traffic obstacle. After de Vries, the Steen family came to own the building. After Mr. Steen died in 1962 and Mrs. Steen eventually moved as well, the building changed owners a few more times. In 1972, it was only used as storage space. Eventually, the building was designated as a national monument in 1976 and completely restored due to its historical/cultural value. The foundation of the old pot cupboard was dug up and rebuilt in the right place. The building served as a home for various families for many years after this, until it became a cafe and later a restaurant after 1991. In Groningen in 2024, in addition to the aforementioned pot cupboard at Schuitendiep 42, there are still 2 pot cupboards to be found. This concerns the Oude Kijk in 't Jatstraat 1 (corner of Zwanestraat) and at the Turfsingel 10, opposite the old Dudok (former) petrol station. Inventory of still present pot cupboards by general practitioner Stratingh in 1858: 1x in the Oude Ebbingestraat 3x at the Grote Markt 1x behind the Waag 1x corner of the Grote Markt and the Poelestraat 2x in the Poelestraat 2x in the wide part of the Poelestraat 2x in the narrow part of the Poelestraat 2x in the Oosterstraat 1x in the Oosterstraat, corner of Kleine Peperstraat 4x in the Oosterstraat 4x at the Grote Markt 1x in the Herestraat 1x in the wide part of the Herestraat 1x between the two markets 2x at the Zuiderhaven, at the Brugstraat 2x in the Grote Kromme Elleboog 1x at the Zuiderhaven 1x in the Kijk in't Jatstraat 2x in the Kijk Text sources: • groningerarchieven.nl • Bagviewer.kadaster.nl • Delpher.nl • groningentoen.nl • dekleineheerlijkheid.nl Photo and film sources: • Groningerarchieven.nl • nl.m.wikipedia.org • Filmbankgroningen.nl • Beeldbankgroningen.nl • Delpher.nl Music source: * via YouTube account @FreesoundMusic - • 60 min mix of royalty free Vintage Jazz