“Hier woonde” is Dutch for “here lived”. On Dutch Stolpersteine this phrase usually opens the inscription. The stone lies in front of the last home the person chose freely, before they were forced to move, go into hiding or were arrested.
Why the past tense?
The text speaks of the past. The stone does not say who lives there now. It recalls the home where the person still lived freely, before the persecution, so the inscription says “woonde”, not “woont”. The stone lies on the pavement in front of that home.
The same words in other languages
German stones usually say “HIER WOHNTE” and French stones say “ICI HABITAIT”. All three mean the same: here lived. Stolpersteine lie in about 30 European countries, so you may come across the opening in more than one language when you travel.
What else the stone says
Sometimes the stone says “Hier werkte” (here worked), “Hier studeerde” (here studied) or “Hier praktiseerde” (here practised). In those cases the stone lies in front of a workplace, a school or a practice instead of a home.
After the opening come the name, the year of birth and what happened to the person. Often the stone gives a date and place of arrest or deportation, and a place and date of death. Words such as gearresteerd (arrested), gedeporteerd (deported) and vermoord (murdered) occur often. Families get stones side by side, so they are together again in front of their home.
Finding a stone and learning more
To learn more about a person, search the archives, such as the Joods Monument or the Oorlogsgravenstichting. If you know more about a person, such as a photo, a story or a correction, you can send it to [email protected].
If the text is hard to read, cleaning the stone can help; see the page on cleaning. On the map you can also make a walking route past stones near an address, for a chosen duration, as a round trip or one way.
On the map you can search by name, street or city, and see who is commemorated at an address, sometimes with a photo of that person.
Read on
How do you read the inscription on a Stolperstein?
The inscription on a Stolperstein usually follows one order: ‘here lived’, then the name, the year of birth and what happened. Read it from top to bottom.
Why are they called stumbling stones (Stolpersteine)?
Stolperstein is German for stumbling stone. The stones lie flush with the pavement, so you do not trip over them, but you must bow to read the name.
Stolperstein or struikelsteen: is there a difference?
Stolperstein is German for stumbling stone. In Dutch people often say struikelsteen, which means the same. Both words name one small memorial stone.
