The Spinhuis in Amsterdam was a penitentiary for women, on the Oudezijds Achterburgwal. It was founded in 1597 in part of the former Sint-Ursula convent. Spinning was supposed to be a job taught to women for them to learn a task that would provide a paying income later on – but it was also the lowest paid job in the textile industry, thus keeping these women into a “loop” hard to escape.
