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 ''grachten'' mostly refers to the city canals of Amsterdam (for which it is well known) and also Utrecht, Leiden and The Hague. The Koninginnegracht in The Hague was conceived by King Willem I for the promotion of tourism in the early 19th century. Since 2009 the Willemsvaart once more offers tours over this ''gracht'', to Scheveningen, known as "StrandRelax" or "BeachRelax", a unique stretch of sand between The Hague and the sea.

Translation

The word ''gracht'' cannot be easily translated; for this reason, it is necessary to distinguish between four related terms:

* A ' (city-canal) is a waterway in the city with one-way streets on both sides of the water. The streets are lined with houses, often in a closed front. In rare cases, there is only one street, and on the other side of the waterway, the houses border on the water.
* A ' (literally meaning canal) is a man-made watercourse, usually in the countryside, with or without streets along its banks.
* A ' is a canal used for transport, rather than for other purposes such as drainage. Like most ''kanalen'', they are usually in the countryside.
* A ' is by origin a water-filled moat which surrounds a city for defense purposes. When the city expands, the singel is incorporated in the city's structure and can no longer be distinguished from a ''gracht'', but the name ''singel'' is usually maintained. As such, ''singel''s often encircle (older) parts of the city. However, in other cases regular ''grachten'' were dug in circles as well, like the famous Grachtengordel (literal translation: ''grachten'' belt) of Amsterdam.

Although the word ''gracht'' means "canal" or "waterway" in the general sense, there is no exact equivalent for the term in English.

Etymology

The word ''gracht'' stems from the older word ''graft'', which is derived from ''graven'', to dig (cf. English "grave"). The Dutch language has had a sound shift in which the combination -ft became -cht. Other examples are ''lucht'' (German: ''Luft'', air) and ''zacht'' (English: soft). In some regional languages such as Frisian and Gronings, the word ''graft'' is still used.

In Dutch, the word ''gracht'' is used only when canals are located inside the city, while canals outside a city are called ''kanaal''. However, Venice is an exception. In Dutch, one does not say "''de grachten van Venetië''" (the city-canals of Venice), but "''de kanalen van Venetië''" (the canals of Venice).Tourist guid
voorbeginners.info
speaks of "kanalen" not of "grachten" when it describes Venice in Dutch.

Toponyms for grachten are usually made by the suffixes ''-gracht'', ''-singel'' (which refers to the old circle-shaped canals), ''-wal'' (referring to the bank of the gracht), ''-vest'' (referring to a fortification), and ''-kade'' ( Southern Dutch: ''-kaai''; quay). The suffix ''-diep'' is used in Groningen where it is a local word for a large canal.

When a ''gracht'' is a remake of an old river, the river's name is used.

History

''Grachten'' were the life-lines of Dutch and Flemish cities. They were used for many purposes: for transportation, for draining, as water supply and as sewers, all at the same time. In heavily populated cities, these combined functions repeatedly proved to be detrimental to the public health.

Most Hanseatic cities have ''grachten'' to transport, to load and to land goods in and from ships. In the Netherlands, the northeastern cities of Deventer, Hindeloopen, Kampen, Leeuwarden, Meppel, Sneek, Zutphen and Zwolle are renowned for their historical ''grachten''. Other cities in the Netherlands, in the western part of the country, are also touristic attractions because of their ''grachten'', especially Alkmaar, Amersfoort, Gouda, Hoorn, Leiden, Utrecht and Weesp.

Sometimes ''grachten'' were made from older rivers, like in Groningen. There the older river called Drentse Aa was used as a natural part of the grachten. In Delft, the main ''gracht'' – Oude Delft – started as a drainage canal for reclaiming land in marshy surroundings: in a period roughly around the year 1100, a canal was dug, making use of a natural creek in the marshy country. This canal was called ''Delf'', later on ''Delft'', from the word ''delven'' that is akin to the verb to "delve" in English. This canal was used to drain the land at both sides; later on it also served as a waterway for transport.

Later, a second canal, called the ''Nieuwe Delft'' (New Delft) was dug through part of the settlement that had grown around the first. The original canal became known as the ''Oude Delft'' (Old Delft), a name it still bears today.

The rural village around ''Oude'' and ''Nieuwe Delft'' developed into a more urban area and the canals gradually acquired the character of city-canals or ''grachten''. A third canal was dug and also changed into a ''gracht''; it connected with the moat around the marketplace. The city and the ''grachten'' grew hand in hand. In 1246, this agglomeration was granted a city charter by the Count of Holland and became the City of Delft. A natural waterway was later incorporated in the city and became a ''gracht'' as well. Circular canals or ''singels'' were dug and surrounded the city. Fortifications were built along these ''singels'' and fixed the shape of the historical inner city of Delft. The characteristic, narrow ''grachten'', perpendicular to the main ''grachten'', developed from ditches that had been dug to drain and delimit the fields which preceded the city.

When it was still a Dutch colony, Cape Town had a network of ''grachten'', that were fed by the springs at the base of Table Mountain. These provided water and sanitation for the infant town. In the ensuing centuries, the ''grachten'' were covered over, but many of the prominent streets in the modern city centre still bear their names (notably the Heerengracht, Keizersgracht, Buitengracht and Buitensingel). There is currently a project to restore some of these historic waterways.

A function in almost every city was drainage. Rainwater flowed through these city-canals. Usually they were also used as a sewer. Because these functions are not needed any more, many ''grachten'' have been filled in to give access to road traffic. However, these new streets have mostly retained the names of the ''grachts'' and ''singels'' they covered or replaced.

File:Holland and the Hollanders - Amsterdam - the Heeren Gracht.png, Heerengracht in 1872
File:Dordrecht Pelserbrug.jpg, Dordrecht
File:Leidsevaart Haarlem.jpg, Haarlem
File:Leiden, de Marekerk RM25069 met de Marebrug foto7 2017-06-11 09.40.jpg, Leiden
File:Panoramic view of the Zwolle canals (Thorbecke gracht) with old ships and a nice sky - panoramio.jpg, Zwolle

References

{{Authority control

Canals
Water transport infrastructure
Waterways in the Netherlands

Dutch words and phrases