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 ...

, capital of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, has more than of ''

gracht ''Gracht'' (; plural: ''grachten'') is a Dutch word for a canal within a city. ''Grachten'' often have a round shape, and form a circle around the city cores in the Netherlands, Belgium, and northern Germany. Outside the Netherlands, the word '' ...

en'' (

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

s), about 90

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

s and 1,500

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

s. The three main canals (Herengracht, Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht), dug in the 17th century during the

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( nl, Gouden Eeuw ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands, roughly spanning the era from 1588 (the birth of the Dutch Republic) to 1672 (the Rampjaar, "Disaster Year"), in which Dutch trade, science, and Dutch art, ...

, form concentric belts around the city, known as the

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 ...

. Alongside the main canals are 1550 monumental buildings. The 17th-century canal ring area, including the Prinsengracht, Keizersgracht, Herengracht and Jordaan, were listed as

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

in 2010, contributing to Amsterdam's fame as the "

Venice of the North The following is an incomplete list of settlements nicknamed Venice of the North. The term ''Venice of the North'' refers to various cities in Northern Europe that contain canals, comparing them to Venice, Italy, which is renowned for its canals (s ...

History

Much of the Amsterdam canal system is the successful outcome of

city planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

. In the early part of the 17th century, with

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

rising, a comprehensive plan was put together, calling for four main, concentric half-circles of canals with their ends resting on the IJ Bay. Known as the "grachtengordel", three of the canals are mostly for residential development (Herengracht or ‘’Patricians' Canal’’; Keizersgracht or ‘’Emperor's Canal’’; and Prinsengracht or ‘’Prince's Canal’’), and a fourth, outer canal, the

Singelgracht The Singelgracht () is the waterway that borders the entire Amsterdam Center and flows along the Nassaukade, Stadhouderskade and Mauritskade. Formerly the canal and the ramparts on the city side formed the outer defenses of the city. Name The n ...

, for purposes of defense and water management. The plan also envisaged interconnecting canals along radii; a set of parallel canals in the

Jordaan The Jordaan is a neighbourhood of the city of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is part of the borough of Amsterdam-Centrum. The area is bordered by the Singelgracht canal and the neighbourhood of Frederik Hendrikbuurt to the west; the Prinsengracht to ...

quarter (primarily for the transportation of goods, for example, beer); the conversion of an existing, inner perimeter canal (Singel) from a defensive purpose to residential and commercial development; and more than one hundred bridges. The defensive purpose of the Nassau/Stadhouderskade was served by moat and earthen dikes, with gates at transit points but otherwise no masonry

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

s. Construction proceeded from west to east, across the breadth of the layout, like a gigantic windshield wiper as the historian Geert Mak calls it – ''not'' from the center outwards as a popular myth has it. Construction of the north-western sector was started in 1613 and was finished around 1625. After 1664, building in the southern sector was started, although slowly because of an economic depression. The eastern part of the concentric canal plan, covering the area 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 ...

river and the IJ Bay, was not implemented for a long time. In the following centuries, the land went mostly for park, the

Botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

, old age homes, theaters and other public facilities – and for waterways without much plan. Several parts of the city and of the

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...

are

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plains s ...

s, recognizable by their postfix ''-meer'' meaning 'lake', such as

Aalsmeer Aalsmeer () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Its name is derived from the Dutch for eel (''aal'') and lake (''meer''). Aalsmeer is bordered by the Westeinderplassen lake, the largest open water of ...

Bijlmermeer The Bijlmermeer (), or colloquially Bijlmer (), is one of the neighbourhoods that form the Amsterdam-Zuidoost borough (Dutch: ''stadsdeel'') of Amsterdam, Netherlands. To many people, the Bijlmer designation is used to refer to Amsterdam Zuidoost ...

Haarlemmermeer Haarlemmermeer () is a municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Haarlemmermeer is a polder, consisting of land reclaimed from water. The name Haarlemmermeer means ' Haarlem's lake', referring to the body of w ...

, and

Watergraafsmeer The Watergraafsmeer is a polder in the Netherlands. It was reclaimed in 1629. In the 17th and 18th centuries, there were many buitenplaatsen in the Watergraafsmeer, though nowadays only one, Frankendael, remains. Since 1921, the Watergraafsmee ...

. The canals in Amsterdam are now used for tourism, recreation,

houseboat A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a home. Most houseboats are not motorized as they are usually moored or kept stationary at a fixed point, and often tethered to land to provide utilities. How ...

s, and a relatively small amount of private transport compared to the main modes of walking, light rail, subway, and bicycle. Most of the canals are paralleled by automobile roads on both sides. File:Amsterdam1662.jpg, A map showing Amsterdam with its canals from 1662 CE. File:Jan van der Heyden - View of the Westerkerk, Amsterdam - WGA11405.jpg, View of the Westerkerk, c. 1660 CE. File:Jan van der Heyden - Canal in Amsterdam.jpg, Amsterdam's canal, second half of 17th century. File:Jan van der Heyden, View of Oudezijds Voorburgwal with the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam.jpg, View of

Oudezijds Voorburgwal The Oudezijds Voorburgwal, often abbreviated to OZ Voorburgwal, is a street and canal in De Wallen in the center of Amsterdam. The OZ Voorburgwal runs from the Grimburgwal in the south to the Zeedijk in the north, where it changes into the Oudez ...

, c. 1670 CE. File:View of the Herengracht, Amsterdam 1670 Jan van der Heyden.jpg, View of the

Herengracht The Herengracht () is the second of four Amsterdam canals belonging to the canal belt and lies between the Singel and the Keizersgracht. The Gouden Bocht (Golden Bend) in particular is known for its large and beautiful canal houses. History Th ...

, c. 1670 CE. File:The Martelaarsgracht in Amsterdam 1670 Jan van der Heyden.jpg, The

Martelaarsgracht Martelaarsgracht (Martyr's Canal) is a street and former canal in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Location The Martelaarsgracht is an extension of the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal and runs in a northeastern direction to the Prins Hendrikkade and the Sta ...

, c. 1670 CE. File:Gerrit Adriaensz. Berckheyde - De bocht van de Herengracht te Amsterdam.jpg, The Golden Bend, 1685 CE. File:Paleist3.jpg,

Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal The Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal () is a street in the centre of Amsterdam. The street runs north-south without intersecting major streets other than the intersection with Raadhuisstraat at its halfway point, right behind the Royal Palace. On the eas ...

, c. 1686 CE.

Water quality

Through the mid-19th century, the water in the canals was stagnant and unsanitary, full of garbage, dead fish and feces. To remedy this, in 1879 the steam-powered pump station Gemaal Zeeburg was built to flush the canals out using water from

Zuiderzee The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee'') was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands, extending about 100 km (60 miles) inland and at most 50 km (30 miles) wide, with an o ...

. Conditions were further improved in 1935 when the inner city was first connected to the sewer system, though the

was not fully connected until 1987. Up until this point, houses released wastewater into the canal. Further attempts to improve the water quality in recent years have included legislation prohibiting houseboats from releasing waste water into the canals. As of 2018, all houseboats are required to be connected to the sewage system, though this is not expected to be achieved until 2021. As of August 2018, more than 50 house boats were still releasing their sewage into the canals. Another source of water pollution, particular to Dutch transport patterns, is the bicycle. Each year, between 12,000 and 15,000 bicycles are pulled out of the canals in what is colloquially referred to as 'bike fishing' (''fietsen vissen''). While swimming in the canals is not officially encouraged, locals now swim each year in a number of locations around the city. Furthermore, since 2012, the ''Amsterdam City Swim'' has been held yearly to raise money for

ALS Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most com ...

research. In it, volunteers swim from Nieuwe Herengracht to Keizersgracht. However, the swimming part of the event was canceled in 2018 due to high levels of

E. coli ''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escher ...

found in the water due to heavy rains the preceding weeks which overloaded the sewer system.

Notable canals in the Canal Belt

Inward to outward, the canals are as follows:

Singel

Singel encircled the medieval city of Amsterdam. It served as a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

around the city from 1480 until 1585, when Amsterdam expanded beyond Singel. The canal runs from the IJ Bay, near

Central Station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

, to the

Muntplein The Muntplein (Mint Square) is a square in the centre of Amsterdam. The square is in fact a bridge — the widest bridge in Amsterdam — that crosses the Singel canal at the point where it flows into the Amstel river. All bridges in Amsterdam a ...

square, where it meets the

river. It is now the inner-most canal in Amsterdam's semicircular ring of canals. The canal should not be confused with Singelgracht canal, which became the outer limit of the city during the

in the 17th Century.

Herengracht

Herengracht (Patricians' Canal or Lords' Canal) is the first of the three major canals in the city centre of Amsterdam. The canal is named after the heren regeerders who governed the city in the 16th and 17th century. The most fashionable part is called the

Golden Bend The Gouden Bocht (English: "Golden Bend") is the most prestigious part of the Herengracht in Amsterdam, Netherlands, between Leidsestraat and Vijzelstraat. Until 1663 the Herengracht reached as far as the present Leidsegracht. From that year o ...

, with many double wide mansions, inner gardens and coach houses on Keizersgracht.

Samuel Sarphati Samuel Sarphati (31 January 1813 – 23 June 1866) was a Dutch physician and Amsterdam city planner. Biography Sarphati's ancestors were Spanish and Portuguese Jews who arrived in the Netherlands in the 17th century. Though middle-class, his p ...

(1813-1868) lived at the house at number 598 and

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

stayed at the house at number 527 during his second visit to Amsterdam.

Keizersgracht

Keizersgracht (literal

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

translation: Emperor's Canal) is the second and widest of the three major canals in the city centre of Amsterdam, in between Herengracht and Prinsengracht. It is named after

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death. He was never crowned by the pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed himself El ...

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

stayed at the house at number 529,

Heinrich Schliemann Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann (; 6 January 1822 – 26 December 1890) was a German businessman and pioneer in the field of archaeology. He was an advocate of the historicity of places mentioned in the works of Homer and an archaeologi ...

worked for almost three years at number 71, Daniel Fahrenheit at 463-465, and during his first visit to Amsterdam (1693), Peter the Great stayed at the house at number 317. The

Homomonument The Homomonument is a memorial in the centre of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. It commemorates all gay men and lesbians who have been persecuted because of their sexual orientation. Opened on 5 September 1987, it was the first monumen ...

(Gay Monument) faces the Keizersgracht.

Prinsengracht

Prinsengracht (Prince's Canal) is the fourth and the longest of the main canals in Amsterdam. It is named after the Prince of Orange. Most of the canal houses along it were built during the

of the United Provinces. The bridges over the Prinsengracht canal connect with the streets in the

in the West and the Weteringbuurt on the East side. Notable buildings along Prinsengracht include the

Noorderkerk The Noorderkerk ("northern church") is a 17th-century Protestant church in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. A number of other towns in the Netherlands also have a Noorderkerk church, including The Hague, Hoorn and Kampen. History The church was built i ...

(Northern Church), the

Noordermarkt The Noordermarkt (; en, Northern Market) is a square in the Jordaan neighborhood of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The square is dominated by the 17th-Century Noorderkerk church, and is lined by cafés and restaurants. Markets are held on the squ ...

(Northern Market),

Anne Frank House The Anne Frank House ( nl, Anne Frank Huis) is a writer's house and biographical museum dedicated to Jewish wartime diarist Anne Frank. The building is located on a canal called the Prinsengracht, close to the Westerkerk, in central Amsterdam ...

, and the

Westerkerk The Westerkerk (; en, Western Church) is a Reformed church within Dutch Protestant Calvinism in central Amsterdam, Netherlands. It lies in the most western part of the Grachtengordel neighborhood (Centrum borough), next to the Jordaan, between ...

(Western Church, Amsterdam's tallest church). Annually, the

Prinsengrachtconcert The Prinsengrachtconcert is an annual open-air concert of classical music held annually in August since 1981 on the Prinsengracht in Amsterdam. The orchestra is situated on a pontoon anchored in front of the Hotel Pulitzer; much of the audience w ...

is held on a pontoon in the canal in front of

Hotel Pulitzer Hotel Pulitzer is a five star luxury hotel in Amsterdam, located on the Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht. The hotel consists of 25 historic canal houses from the 17th and 18th century, merged into one and opened as a hotel in 1970 after several can ...

Other notable canals

Zwanenburgwal

Zwanenburgwal is a canal and street in the center of

. The painter

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

and philosopher

Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, b ...

lived here. In 2006 it was voted one of the most beautiful streets in Amsterdam by readers of ''

Het Parool ''Het Parool'' () is an Amsterdam-based daily newspaper. It was first published on 10 February 1941 as a resistance paper during the German occupation of the Netherlands (1940–1945). In English, its name means ''The Password'' or ''The Motto' ...

'', a local daily newspaper. Zwanenburgwal flows from Sint Antoniessluis

sluice gate Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...

(between the streets

Sint Antoniesbreestraat The Sint Antoniesbreestraat ("St. Anthony's Broad Street") is a street in the centre of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The street runs south from Nieuwmarkt square to the Sint Antoniesluis sluice gates, where it continues as the Jodenbreestraat. ...

and

Jodenbreestraat The Jodenbreestraat ("Jewish Broad Street") is a street in the centre of Amsterdam, which connects the Sint Antoniesluis sluice gates to the Mr. Visserplein traffic circle. North of the sluice gates, the street continues on to Nieuwmarkt square ...

) to the

river. The canal was originally named ''Verversgracht'' ("dyers' canal"), after the textile industry that once dominated this part of town. Dyed textiles were hung to dry along the canal.

Brouwersgracht

Brouwersgracht is a canal in the city centre of

and is part of the canal belt connecting the Singel, Herengracht, Keizergracht and Prinsengracht and marks the northern border of the canal belt. The canal served as a site for ships returning from

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

with spices and silks, therefore Brouwersgracht had many warehouses and storage depots for the ships inventories. Likewise some officials of the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

lived here such as their cartographer (1708-1743)

Isaak de Graaf Isaak de Graaff (1668 – 5 September 1743) was a Dutch map maker. He was born in Amsterdam, the son of Abraham de Graaf and Susanna Pietersz Eppingh. His father was in the service of the Dutch East India Company from 1679 until his death in 1714, ...

Breweries A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

were also prevalent in the area due to the access to fresh water shipments. Today the warehouses are now apartments, some of the most expensive in Amsterdam. Houseboats also are seen in the canal. In 2007, Brouwersgracht was voted the most beautiful street in Amsterdam by readers of ''

'', a national daily newspaper.

Kloveniersburgwal

Kloveniersburgwal is a canal running south from

Nieuwmarkt Nieuwmarkt (; en, New Market) is a square in the centre of Amsterdam, Netherlands. The surrounding area is known as the Lastage neighborhood. It is situated in the borough of Amsterdam-Centrum. The square is considered part of Amsterdam's Chin ...

to the

River on the edge of the medieval city. The east side became populated in the 17th century and has a few grand mansions, like the

Trippenhuis The Trippenhuis is a neoclassical canal mansion in the centre of Amsterdam. It was built in 1660–1662 for the wealthy Amsterdam weapons traders Louis and Hendrick Trip. Many references to weaponry can be seen on its facade. Since 1887 it has be ...

, now housing the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...

(KNAW). Kloveniersburgwal was popular with administrators at the

, being close to its nerve center on Oude Hoogstraat and its warehouse.

Brantasgracht, Lamonggracht, Majanggracht and Seranggracht

These four canals are the newest in Amsterdam, constructed on Java Island in 1995, a manmade island in the IJ Harbor, north-east of the City Center. The canals are lined with modern interpretations of classic Amsterdam canal houses, which were designed by 19 young Dutch architects. Each house is 4.5 meters wide and 4 or 5 stories tall, but the designs are totally unique and are often featured in Amsterdam travel guides despite being off the beaten path of most tourists. Nine ornate metal bridges, designed by artist couple Guy Rombouts and Monika Droste, cross the canals for pedestrians and cyclists.

References

External links

* {{World Heritage Sites in the Netherlands 17th-century establishments in the Dutch Republic Canals in the Netherlands History of Amsterdam

Canals Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or river engineering, engineered channel (geography), channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport watercraft, vehicles (e.g. ...

Tourist attractions in Amsterdam Transport in Amsterdam World Heritage Sites in the Netherlands