Renting a Home in Klarendal and Spijkerkwartier, Arnhem

For decades, Klarendal was known as 'Tranendal' (Valley of Tears). Poverty, unrest, a neighborhood you didn't move to but ended up in. The transformation began around 2005, when the Fashion Quarter concept gave the district a new face. ArtEZ, the art academy whose fashion program produced Viktor & Rolf and The People of the Labyrinths, became the catalyst. Along the Klarendalseweg, ateliers, design studios, and concept stores opened. In 2011, the transformation won the Gulden Feniks, the national prize for the reuse of existing districts.

Spijkerkwartier, on the other side of Sonsbeeksingel, is its antithesis. Designed in 1853 by city architect Hendrik Jan Heuvelink, built in the 1880s for affluent colonial families. Monumental mansions along straight streets, hidden inner gardens behind the facades. Since 2007, it has been a protected city view. Those considering renting a home in Klarendal or Spijkerkwartier choose between two worlds that coexist.

Klarendal: From Working-Class District to Fashion Quarter

Klarendalseweg is the backbone of the neighborhood. On both sides are the streets where textile workers once lived. The buildings are smaller than in Spijkerkwartier, the streets narrower. The Fashion Quarter now has about fifty shops and seventy commercial spaces in fashion and design. The square between Putstraat, Koolstraat, and Sonsbeeksingel is named after Elly Lamaker, founder of ArtEZ's fashion department.

The population consists of one-third newcomers and creatives, one-third residents with a migration background, and one-third original Klarendal residents. This mix is visible. Next to a design store is a Turkish bakery. Behind a concept store is a community center. It's not a polished neighborhood, and that's precisely what attracts renters.

The housing supply consists of pre-war laborers' homes, most of which have been divided into apartments. Some buildings have been converted into studio homes with work and living spaces. Demand is high. Klarendal is no longer an easy place to find something.

Spijkerkwartier: Monuments and Inner Gardens

Spijkerkwartier owes its name to two medieval storage barns, called 'spijkers,' derived from the Latin spica. The neighborhood has 6,880 inhabitants (2024) and 2,777 homes. Two-thirds are rental, one-third for sale. It's a young neighborhood: many students, many single highly educated individuals.

The Spijkerstraat is the main artery. Independent shops, cafes, restaurants. No chains. The atmosphere is reminiscent of a village street that has landed in a city. The side streets are quieter. There stand the monumental buildings from the 1880s, with high ceilings, sliding doors, and original ornaments not found in post-war reconstruction areas.

What makes Spijkerkwartier special are the inner gardens. Behind the facades are communal gardens maintained by residents. They are not visible from the street. You have to live there to know them. They are green rooms in a neighborhood that from the street appears mostly stone.

In 2006, the red-light district disappeared from the neighborhood. Since then, many monumental buildings have been renovated. The new construction project De Spykerij adds modern apartments to a neighborhood that is otherwise nineteenth-century.

Sonsbeek Park as a Backyard Neighbor

Both neighborhoods border Sonsbeek Park, 67 hectares of English landscape park designed by J.D. Zocher. The Grote Waterval (Great Waterfall), built in 1826 by Baron van Heeckeren, is the most striking element: a grotto of boulders where you can stand behind the curtain of water. The park extends to Park Zijpendaal and forms the connection to the Veluwezoom.

For renters in Klarendal and Spijkerkwartier, the park is within walking distance. That may sound like a detail, but it defines daily life. Running, walking the dog, Sunday through the forest. Arnhem is the only major city in the Netherlands where you can be in a hilly forest within a ten-minute bike ride from the city center.

What Renters Find Here

Renting a home in Klarendal or Spijkerkwartier means making a choice. Klarendal has smaller homes, a lower entry threshold, and a raw edge. Spijkerkwartier has higher ceilings, monumental facades, and higher rents. Both neighborhoods are a five-minute bike ride from Arnhem Central Station.

Finding a rental home in Klarendal or Spijkerkwartier requires patience. Spijkerkwartier attracts students and young professionals who seek character over square meters. Klarendal attracts creatives and starters who want a dynamic neighborhood. Respond the same day. Have income proof and employer's statement ready. In Spijkerkwartier, the best apartments are gone within a day.