The Nieuwe Prinsengracht is a canal in the

Plantage Plantage is a neighbourhood of Amsterdam, Netherlands located in its Centrum borough. It is bordered by the Entrepotdok to the north, Plantage Muidergracht to the east and south and Nieuwe Herengracht to the west. In the centre of the neighbourhoo ...

neighborhood of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, an extension of the

Prinsengracht The Prinsengracht is a -long canal that runs parallel to the Keizersgracht in the center of Amsterdam. The canal, named after the Prince of Orange, is the fourth of the four main canals belonging to the canal belt. History Construction started ...

in the eastern

Grachtengordel The Grachtengordel (, "canal belt (girdle);" known in English as the Canal District) is a neighborhood in Amsterdam, Netherlands located in the Centrum district. The seventeenth-century canals of Amsterdam, located in the center of Amsterdam, wer ...

(canal belt).

Location

The Nieuwe Prinsengracht runs between the

Amstel The Amstel () is a river in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. It flows from the Aarkanaal and Drecht in Nieuwveen northwards, passing Uithoorn, Amstelveen, and Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, to the IJ in Amsterdam. Annually, the riv ...

and the

Plantage Muidergracht The Plantage Muidergracht is a canal and street in the Plantage neighborhood of Amsterdam. On and along the Plantage Muidergracht, near Roeterseiland, are some of the buildings of the University of Amsterdam, originally built for courses or subfac ...

. It is connected to Onbekendegracht, which runs behind the

Royal Theater Carré The Royal Theater Carré (Dutch: ) is a Neo-Renaissance theatre in Amsterdam, located near the river Amstel. When the theatre was founded in 1887, it was originally meant as a permanent circus building. Currently, it is mainly used for musicals, ...

, and is crossed by Weesperstraat and Roetersstraat. There are three bridges over the Nieuwe Prinsengracht: bridge no. 250 (Weesperzijde) on the Amstel, bridge no. 251 (Weesperstraat) and bridge no. 258 (Roetersstraat).

Architecture

*Due to their special architecture, the Nieuwe Prinsengracht 86-94 buildings are on the municipal monument list . *The Ben Polakbrug (bridge no. 258, a so-called plate bridge from 1924) spans the Nieuwe Prinsengracht at the Roetersstraat. The bridge is named after alderman, doctor and resistance fighter Ben Polak (1913–93). *The building of the former Geological Institute, built in 1930 at Nieuwe Prinsengracht 130, is on the municipal monument list.

History

The Prinsengracht, the third of the three main canals in the Amsterdam canal belt, was built in 1612. The part between the

Leidsegracht The Leidsegracht () is a canal in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It is a cross-canal in Amsterdam-Center that connects Herengracht, Keizersgracht, Prinsengracht and Lijnbaansgracht and flows into the Singelgracht at Marnixstraat. History The Leid ...

and the Amstel belongs to the expansion of 1658. The part to the east of the Amstel was constructed with the last extension. This last part, the Nieuwe Prinsengracht, also called the Joodse Prinsengracht, was located in the prosperous part of Amsterdam's Jewish quarter, as were the

Nieuwe Herengracht The Nieuwe Herengracht () is a canal in Centrum district of Amsterdam. The canal is an extension of the Herengracht that runs between the Amstel and the Scharrebiersluis (lock) leading to the Schippersgracht from the Entrepotdok. It is in the Pla ...

and the

Nieuwe Keizersgracht The Nieuwe Keizersgracht is a canal in Amsterdam, part of the eastern Grachtengordel (canal belt). Location The Nieuwe Keizersgracht is an extension of the Keizersgracht, between the Amstel and Plantage Muidergracht in the Plantage neighborhood ...

. Until 1866 the Nieuwe Prinsengracht ran east of the Muidergracht to the

Entrepotdok The Entrepotdok (Warehouse Dock), formerly Nieuwe Rapenburgergracht, is a canal in Amsterdam, and a street and row of former warehouses with the same name along the northeast side of the canal. They were constructed between 1708 and 1829, used fo ...

. The three ponds within the

Artis zoo Natura Artis Magistra (Latin for "Nature is the teacher of art"), commonly known just as Artis (), is a zoo and botanical garden in the centre of Amsterdam. It is the oldest zoo in the Netherlands and fifth oldest zoo in the world. In addition t ...

site still remain from the filled-in section of the canal.

Famous residents

* Joop Admiraal, (1937–2006), actor *

Joseph Mendes da Costa Joseph Mendes da Costa (4 November 1863 – 20 July 1939) was a Dutch sculptor and teacher. Life and work Mendes da Costa was born in Amsterdam to the sculptor Moses Mendes da Costa and Esther Teixeira de Mattos, sister of Henri Teixeira de Mat ...

, (1863–1939), sculptor *

Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita (6 June 1868 – 11 February 1944) was a Dutch graphic artist active in the years before the Second World War. His pupils included graphic artist M. C. Escher (1898–1972). A Sephardic Jew, in his old age he was sen ...

, (1868–1944), graphic artist File:Gerrit Lamberts (1776-1850), Afb 010055000284.jpg , Plantage from dome in Ouderhoek garden.Right: Nieuwe Prinsengracht & bridge at Muiderstraat, now Plantage Middenlaan.

Gerrit Lamberts Gerrit Lamberts (1776–1850) was a Dutch painter and curator of the Rijksmuseum when it was located in the Trippenhuis. Lamberts was born in Amsterdam. He started out as a merchant selling paper and later became a watercolorist, draughtsman and ...

(1817) File:J.M.A. Rieke Afb 010097010473.jpg , Nieuwe Prinsengracht from Onbekendegracht with "De Eendracht" mill (demolished 1876). J.M.A. Rieke File: Nieuwe prinsengracht.jpg , Nieuwe Prinsengracht in an easterly direction, seen from the bridge at the

File:BenPolakbrug.jpg , Ben Polakbrug (bridge 258)

Notes

Sources