The Keizersgracht (; "Emperor's canal") is a canal in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, the Netherlands. It is the second of the three main Amsterdam canals that together form 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, we ...

, or canal belt, and lies between the inner

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 ...

and outer

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 starte ...

History

The first part of the Keizersgracht, between

Brouwersgracht The Brouwersgracht is a canal in Amsterdam that connects the Singel with the Singelgracht. The canal marks the northwestern border of the Grachtengordel (canal belt). Between the Prinsengracht and the Singelgracht the Brouwersgracht forms the ...

and (approximately) the current

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 ...

, was dug in the summer of 1615 at the initiative of mayor Frans Hendricksz. Oetgens, city carpenter Hendrick Jacobsz Staets and city surveyor Lucas Jansz Sinck. The Keizersgracht was 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 E ...

. It is the widest canal in the center of Amsterdam, namely one hundred Amsterdam feet, that is . The Keizersgracht is the second of the three main canals to have been dug; the

was dug in 1614. In September 1614 there arose an intention to turn the Keizersgracht into a chic boulevard without water, following the example of Lange Voorhout in The Hague. This idea was abandoned for a number of reasons. It was expected that the future buyers of lots on the Keizersgracht would want to be able to reach their home or warehouse by boat. Other considerations may have been the need for water storage, the easier supply of building and raising material, but especially the shortage of infill material. The construction of the fortifications at the same time also required a lot of infill material. The allotment on the east side was completed in November 1615. The plots were given the same width, 30 feet, as on the Herengracht. The buildings went up quickly; by 1618 hardly any vacant lots remained. The section between the Leidsegracht and 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 ri ...

belongs to the fourth Amsterdam expansion of 1658. The actual digging of this part of the Keizersgracht began in 1663. In 1667 both parts of the Keizersgracht were connected to each other. The section between the Amstel 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 ...

was laid last. This part was named Nieuwe Keizersgracht. During the second phase in 1663, city architect

Daniël Stalpaert Daniël Stalpaert or Daniel Stalpert (1615, in Amsterdam – buried 3 December 1676, in Amsterdam), was a Dutch architect, painter, town carpenter, print artist and draftsman.

devised an additional street between Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht, the Kerkstraat, in order to provide the canal houses with a back entrance where they could build a coach house. In 1949 the municipality had all the trees on the canal cut down due to the elm disease, after which linden trees were planted.

Architecture and monuments

There are many monuments and monumental canal houses on the Keizersgracht, including:

Even numbers

:102: Rode Hoed ( Vrijburg), from 1630 :220: Church of Our Lady, from 1854 :224: Saxenburg, renewed after 1755. :242–252: Groote Keijser, built between 1620 and 1730 :324:

Felix Meritis Felix Meritis ("Happy through Merit") is the name of an intellectual society in Amsterdam, but subsequently used for the building they built for themselves on the Keizersgracht. History It was built according to a winning design by the arc ...

, from 1787 :334-346: De Claes Reinierszhofje, from 1618 :384: The Dylan Hotel, formerly Roman Catholic Poor's Office and before that the first

Theatre of Van Campen The Theatre of Van Campen ( nl, Schouwburg van Van Campen, ) was a theatre located at Keizersgracht 384 in Amsterdam. It was the first city theatre, based on the Teatro Olimpico in Italy. Since 1999 the building has been occupied by "" hotel. ...

(1637-1664) :566: Keizersgrachtkerk, from 1888 :672-674: The Van Raey Houses, now Museum Van Loon, from 1671 :676: The Nieuwe Waalse Kerk, Keizersgracht 676, from 1856

Odd numbers

:105: d'Bruynvis, from 1763 :123: Huis met de Hoofden, from 1622 :141: South Africa House :143: Keizersgracht 143, historic canal house :177: Coymanshuis, by architect

Jacob van Campen Jacob van Campen (2 February 1596 - 13 September 1657) was a Dutch artist and architect of the Golden Age. Life He was born into a wealthy family at Haarlem, and spent his youth in his home town. Being of noble birth and with time on his hand ...

, from 1625 :209: De Hoop, from 1734 , restored in 2001 :225: The Koopermoole, from 1746 :401:

Huis Marseille Huis Marseille, Museum for Photography is the oldest photography museum in Amsterdam, opened in 1999. Huis Marseille was the first photography museum in the Netherlands when it opened in 1999; the Nederlands Fotomuseum in Rotterdam, the Fotomuse ...

, from 1665, now a museum for photography :609:

Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam Foam or Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam is a photography museum located at the Keizersgracht in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The museum has four different exhibitions at any given time in which different photographic genres are shown, such as documen ...

:633: Museum Geelvinck-Hinlopen :745: ING Bank A number of buildings were built by the Amsterdam architects

Philips Vingboons Philips Vingboons (or ''Vinckboons'', ''Vinckeboons'', ''Vinckbooms'') ( – 2 October 1678) was a Dutch architect. He was part of the school of Jacob van Campen, that is, Dutch Classicism. Vingboons was especially highly regarded in his native ...

(1607-1678) and

Adriaan Dortsman Adriaan Dortsman (1635, Vlissingen – 1682, Amsterdam), was a Dutch Golden Age architect of Amsterdam. Biography According to the RKD he moved to Amsterdam in 1667 and is known for drawings and architectural designs.

(1635-1682). 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 ...

on the Westermarkt is in part, in the form of a jetty, above the Keizersgracht. File:K62scha.jpg, Keizersgracht 54-62, with ice fun on the frozen canal File:Detail of mansion-Coymans.JPG, Keizersgracht 177, the Coymans houses in 2008 File:keizersgracht.jpg, Keizersgracht 85-87 File:K123w.jpg, Huis met de Hoofden, Keizersgracht 123 File:Astoria Amsterdam 1.jpg, Astoria building, Keizersgracht 174-176

Numbering and orientation

The Keizersgracht starts in the north at the Brouwersgracht, bends parallel between Herengracht and the Prinsengracht to the southeast and flows into the Amstel. The odd-numbered side of the canal is on the side of the heart of the city (Dam Square). :At Keizersgracht 200 and 183 is the intersection with Westermarkt and Raadhuisstraat :At Keizersgracht 508 and 455 is the intersection with Leidsestraat :At Keizersgracht 648 and 589 is the intersection with Vijzelstraat :At Keizersgracht 764 and 709 is the intersection with Utrechtsestraat :At Keizersgracht 826 and 765, the canal flows into the Amstel

Bridges

The Keizersgracht is spanned by 14 bridges, all fixed. The bridge names in parentheses are the unofficial names of bridges, names which have lapsed since April 2016. With the passage heights in the above table, take into account the fact that the Keizersgracht, like all other canals in the city center, is below the Amsterdam Ordnance Datum.

Skating

If ice forms in winter, there is a possibility of skating on the Amsterdam canals. Waternet will stop circulation of water in the canals by closing the locks, and boats will be prohibited from sailing on a number of canals, including the Keizersgracht. The Keizersgracht is then designated as the main canal for skating. In 2008 a tour boat from shipping company Meyers broke to pieces against the rules in the very first layer of ice; questions about this were asked to the city center district board. The Keizersrace is a sprint race that is held between the Leidsestraat and the Spiegelgracht. The winner of the race may call himself/herself the Keizer(in) of Amsterdam. The race was held in 1991, 1996, 1997 and 2012.

Tunnel

The so-called Poentunnel was opened below the Keizersgracht in 1974, an underground walking route between the De Bazel and Vijzelbank bank buildings in Vijzelstraat. Today, the tunnel is still present, but out of use and bricked up on the north side.

Famous residents

* 8?: Joan van Oosterwijck, governor of the VOC, WIC and Society of Suriname * Willem Cornelisz van Muyden lived not far from the Greenland warehouses. He attached a signboard, 'The First Whale', to his spacious home. * 65: Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft and his wife Leonora Hellemans. After his death, his widow bought the property that the couple had lived in for years. * 71, 73 and 127: Cornelis Trip * 111 and 113: Hendrik Carloff and Jan Valckenburgh. They were both involved in the slave trade between the Gold Coast and South America. * 123: Czech pedagogue

John Amos Comenius John Amos Comenius (; cs, Jan Amos Komenský; pl, Jan Amos Komeński; german: Johann Amos Comenius; Latinization (literature), Latinized: ''Ioannes Amos Comenius''; 28 March 1592 – 15 November 1670) was a Czech Philosophy, philosopher, Ped ...

, who had moved in with Louis de Geer * 137-139: Samuel Blommaert * 139: Hugo Metsers * 141:

Laurens Reael Laurens Reael (22 October 1583 – 21 October 1637) was an employee of the Dutch East India Company, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1616 to 1619, and an admiral of the Dutch Republican Navy from 1625 to 1627. Early life La ...

and

Jacques Specx Jacques Specx (; 1585 – 22 July 1652) was a Dutch merchant, who founded the trade on Japan and Korea in 1609. Jacques Specx received the support of William Adams to obtain extensive trading rights from Tokugawa Ieyasu, the '' shōgun'' emerit ...

* 149: Hans van Loon, governor of the VOC and

Boudewijn Büch Boudewijn Maria Ignatius Büch (14 December 1948 – 23 November 2002) was a Dutch writer, poet and television presenter. Early life Büch was born in a Catholic family. He was born in a hospital in The Hague and spent his childhood in Wass ...

* 198: Hendrick van Baerle. He was involved in slave transports to Suriname * 209: Gerrit Reynst and Jan Reynst, art collectors * 210: The doctor and mayor

Nicolaes Tulp Nicolaes Tulp (9 October 1593 – 12 September 1674) was a Dutch surgeon and mayor of Amsterdam. Tulp was well known for his upstanding moral character and as the subject of Rembrandt's famous painting ''The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp' ...

* 217: Daniël Deutz, mayor of Amsterdam, the lawyer Jacob Walraven,Walraven, Jacob (1759-1823)
huygens.knaw.nl Jan Heemskerk., and his son

Theo Heemskerk Theodorus "Theo" Heemskerk (20 July 1852 – 12 June 1932) was a Dutch politician of the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 12 February 1908 until 29 August 1913. Heemskerk is particularly known ...

, both home affairs minister. * 224: David van Baerle, the merchant

Jean de Neufville Jean de Neufville or John de Neufville (Amsterdam, May 25, 1729 - Cambridge, Massachusetts, in December 1796) was an Amsterdam banker who had a meeting in Aachen on September 4, 1778 with US William Lee, a diplomat. Biography Jean was the son ...

and Pieter van Winter, art collectors * 285: Kiliaen van Rensselaer, his neighbor was Jacques l'Hermite * 289: Van Hall family, possibly the birthplace of Walraven van Hall *

Johan van Scharphuizen Joan or Johan van Scharphuysen, Scharphuizen or Jan van Scherpenhuizen (died 15 January 1699) was a Dutch colonist, a judge in Suriname (Dutch colony), Suriname, a slave-trader, colonial governor from 1689 to 1696 on behalf of the Society of Surin ...

lived next to the

, and later also Carel Wouter Visscher * 317: Christoffer Brands * 319: the actor

Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. Hauer's career began in 1969 with the title role in the Dutch television series ' ...

* 385:

Jacob de Wit Jacob de Wit (19 December 1695 – 12 November 1754) was a Dutch artist and interior decorator who painted many religious scenes. Biography Jacob de Wit was born in Amsterdam, and became famous for his door and ceiling paintings. He lived on ...

* 444-446: the

Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam The Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam (; OBA; English: Amsterdam Public Library) is an organisation of public libraries in Amsterdam, Diemen and Ouder-Amstel in the Netherlands. The first library opened in 1919 at the Keizersgracht in Amsterdam. ...

(Amsterdam Public Library) until 2007, Mattheus Lestevenon, the ambassador in France, and the bankers and art collectors Thomas Hope,

Henry Hope Henry Hope (1735–1811) was an Amsterdam merchant banker born in Braintree, Massachusetts. He emigrated to the Netherlands to join the family business Hope & Co. at a young age. From 1779, Henry became the manager of Hope & Co. and he participat ...

and

Adriaan van der Hoop Adriaan van der Hoop (28 April 1778, in Amsterdam – 17 March 1854, in Amsterdam) was a Dutch banker and in the first half of the 19th century one of the richest men in the Netherlands. He also was an influential politician: a member of th ...

* 452: Van Loon family and Gerard Arnout Hasselaer * At the Molenpad,

Pieter and François Hemony Pieter Hemony (born Pierre Hemony; 161920 February 1680) and his brother François Hemony (24 May 1667) were the greatest bellfounders in the history of the Low Countries. They developed the carillon, in collaboration with Jacob van Eyck, ...

established their bell foundry. The first Italian opera was performed on the site in 1680 by Dirck Strijcker. * 456: the surgeon David van Gesscher * 458: Frederick Coyett, the last governor of Dutch Formosa. * Between the Leidsegracht and the Leidsestraat on the even side lived the poet Nicolaas Simon van Winter * 492: Hans van Willigenburg * 515: Actor Chris Zegers * 518 Benno Premsela has lived for decades here, and rebuilt it in his characteristic style. * 529: Once the home of America's second president,

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 ...

. * 560:

Jacob van Lennep Jacob van Lennep (24 March 1802 – 25 August 1868) was a Dutch poet and novelist. Early years He was born in Amsterdam, where his father, David Jacob van Lennep (1774–1853), a scholar and poet, was professor of eloquence and the classical l ...

* 565?:

Gerrit van Uylenburgh Gerrit van Uylenburgh (c. 1625 – 1679), or Gerrit Uylenburgh, was a Dutch Golden Age painter and art-dealer. He was the eldest son of Hendrick van Uylenburgh and took over the family art-dealing business after Hendrick's death and burial i ...

, art dealer. * 592 and 418: wallpaper painter

Egbert van Drielst Egbert van Drielst (Groningen, 12 March 1745 – Amsterdam, 4 June 1818) began his study of the painting in a factory in Groningen which produced mainly lacquered objects. He soon went to Haarlem, where he became an apprentice in the wallpa ...

* 601: Ferdinand van Collen * 643: Matthias Trip * 668: Mayor Cornelis Munter * 672:

Ferdinand Bol Ferdinand Bol (24 June 1616 – 24 August 1680) was a Dutch painter, etcher and draftsman. Although his surviving work is rare, it displays Rembrandt's influence; like his master, Bol favored historical subjects, portraits, numerous self-port ...

, painter * 686:

Johannes Burman Johannes Burman (26 April 1707 in Amsterdam – 20 February 1780), was a Dutch botanist and physician. Burman specialized in plants from Ceylon, Amboina and Cape Colony. The name ''Pelargonium'' was introduced by Johannes Burman. Johannes ...

, botanist * 755: Paulien Huizinga *

Cosimo III de' Medici Cosimo III de' Medici (14 August 1642 – 31 October 1723) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1670 until his death in 1723, the sixth and penultimate from the House of Medici. He reigned from 1670 to 1723, and was the elder son of Grand Duke Ferdinan ...

stayed at an unknown number with the wool and slave trader Francesco Feroni

Notes

Sources

External links

Overzicht Keizersgracht even zijde - amsterdamsegrachtenhuizen.infoOverzicht Keizersgracht oneven zijde - amsterdamsegrachtenhuizen.info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keizersgracht 1615 establishments in the Dutch Republic Canals opened in 1615 Canals in Amsterdam Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor