Engineering Time Capsule: Amsterdam

In the 17th century, Amsterdam was bursting at the seams fed by a booming economy. Population growth and influx led to a housing crisis. To end the housing shortage, rich merchants designed and built horseshoe-shaped canals with ostentatious houses overlooking the waterways. The canals known as 'grachten' are the landmark of Amsterdam to this day.

In order to realize this monumental construction, canal beds had to be dug into the marshy ground. The Dutch word gracht for canal was derived from the verb "graven" meaning digging. After that, workers drove long logs into the soft ground and dressed the walls of the canals with bricks. In between the canals, higher dry ground now allowed the building of the merchants' houses so much admired by tourists.

Since then, form and function of the canal system has hardly changed. Of course, the ravages of time have taken their toll on the houses, and a large part of the facades have been tampered with to keep them in fashion. Many of the pretty stone gables which draw attention to the employment of the first inhabitants of the houses have been preserved together with the white paint on the window frames contrasting with the red-brown bricks. An architect once compared the total impression to a pattern of a bar code.

The horse shoe formed three main canals are lined with trees and are under UNESCO protection. The system is made up of the Singel and the Herengracht in the interior, the Keizersgracht in the center and the Prinsengracht on the outside. The system wouldn't be complete without the many narrow connecting canals. They contribute to make a ride on a tour boat a special experience. They are part of the tourist path through Amsterdam as much as the Anne Frank House and the Rijksmuseum.

The most noble of the waterways is the Herengracht. It was named after the merchant princes who ruled the city and who provided the money to build the canals in the first place. Along its bank can be found the most impressive mansions in Amsterdam. The wealthy families that lived and worked in the magnificent buildings with the pretty gardens have long since left. They have given way to the offices of banks and insurance companies.

In contrast, the houses on the Prinsengracht are much more modest. Once, there stood the warehouses of the merchants and the narrow houses were home to the poor. Today, the outermost half-ring is very popular due to numerous pubs and other entertainments. All canals tend to come to life whenever there is something to celebrate and for boat parades. That is the time to really be in Amsterdam to make the most of a visit.

On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the building of the canals, an extensive book has been published. It contains a lot of photographs and detailed history about each property. In addition, the authors describe very vividly how confectioners and tobacco manufacturers, slave traders and scientists, and thieves and whale hunters lived together peacefully along the canals. The Canals of Amsterdam - 400 Years of Building, Living and Working by Koen Kleijn and Rob van Zoest (editors) was published by Toth in English and Dutch.

Further reading
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