Gevelhert
It’s almost impossible to spot, yet it has been keeping an eye on everything for decades: the deer on the façade of the corner building where Oude Ebbingestraat and Turfsingel meet.
Of course, the stag didn’t end up there by chance. If you look closely, you’ll see that the statue bears the words ‘Apotheek’ and ‘Dr H.G. Zaaijer’. This is where Mr Zaaijer had his chemist’s shop. In the past, chemists and pharmacists often used the stag’s head as their emblem. In those days, stag horn salt was extracted from the animal’s antlers. This was used to treat faintness and other situations where a pick-me-up was needed. It was the glucose of its day.