The Gouden Bocht (English: "Golden Bend") is the most prestigious part 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, between Leidsestraat and Vijzelstraat. Until 1663 the Herengracht reached as far as the present

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 Leids ...

. From that year on, the fortifications around Amsterdam were expanded, within the Herengracht, the

Keizersgracht The Keizersgracht (; "Emperor's canal") is a canal in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It is the second of the three main Amsterdam canals that together form the Grachtengordel, or canal belt, and lies between the inner Herengracht and outer Prinsengr ...

and 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 ...

which were expanded. The digging ended at the river

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 ...

within a few years. The buyers on the Herengracht were encouraged to buy two

lot Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to: Common meanings Areas * Land lot, an area of land * Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *Lot number, in batch production *Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...

s and built double-wide mansions, and because the three canals here were laid out a little further from each other, and the lots were also deeper. On these large lots, the well-to-do placed their city-palaces with classicist facades,

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

ed ceilings, and fine gardens, once a year open to the public. In the curve, by the Nieuwe Spiegelstraat, lived Amsterdam's richest citizens, and so this part of the belt of canals was named the "Golden Bend" in recent history. The house of the family De Neufville (1731), located at Herengracht 475 and 476, is known as having the prettiest facades. Herengracht 466, on the corner of the Nieuwe Spiegelstraat was designed by

Philip 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 c ...

and from 1858 until 1926 the office of the Dutch Trade-Society. On the other corner (Herengracht 464) was the office of former lawyer

Bram Moszkowicz Abraham Maarten 'Bram' Moszkowicz (; born 26 June 1960) is a Dutch jurist and former lawyer. Early life and education Abraham Maarten Moszkowicz was born on 26 June 1960 in Maastricht in the Netherlands. He is the son of Berthe Bessant and law ...

. The Golden Bend is now mainly made up of banks and other financial institutions, some cultural institutions, like

Goethe Institute The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...

, as well as a small private-museum, the Kattenkabinet (Herengracht 497).

Literature

* Hans Tulleners De Gouden Bocht; 21 monumenten aan de Amsterdamse Herengracht (1989) * Stichting ITARR/ARRS 'De Gouden Bocht van Amsterdam' (2006) * Urban Home & Garden Tours, architectuur rondleidingen met bezoek aan interieurs en tuinen Gouden Bocht Amsterdam

External links

Amsterdamse grachtenhuizen
Panorama Gouden Bocht (Dutch)
Official press release by the City Archive
on "Amsterdam and slavery"; published to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery which formed an "important part of the city's economy during the 17th and 18th c." (Amsterdam en slavernij, 28 mei 2013 in Dutch)
Official press release of Amsterdam.nl
on several early residents along the Gouden Bocht who were founder-directors of the West-Indische Compagnie (WIC, founded in 1621) and the profits they had made in slavery ("150 jaar afschaffing slavernij onderdeel programma", a walking tour organized in collaboration with the City Archive, 10 juli 2013 in Dutch) Canals in Amsterdam Geography of Amsterdam {{NorthHolland-geo-stub