Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Grachtengordel
Top 10 Bridges
1 Magere Brug (Amstel)
2 Blauwbrug (Amstel)
3 Hogesluis (Amstel)
4 Nieuwe Amstelbrug
(Amstel)
5 Berlagebrug (Amstel)
6 Torensluis (Singel)
7 St Antoniessluis
(Zwanenburgwal)
8 Seven hump-back
bridges (Reguliersgracht)
9 White wooden
drawbridges (Western
Islands)
0 Sleutelbrug (Oudezijds
Voorburgwal)
Amsterdam's magnificent semicircle of three canals -
Prinsengracht, Keizersgracht and Herengracht - is the
city's defining characteristic. Lined by elegant gabled
houses, and connected by intimate cross-streets, it
was devised in the early 17th century to cope with
the rapid rise in population, and was built in two
stages during the century. This costly Plan of Three
Canals was purely aesthetic, taking no account of
existing waterways. The land along the banks was
sold in single plots; the wealthy bought two together
so that they could build larger houses.
Amsterdam had its unlikely beginnings some 400
years before, when a fishing settlement grew up on
the marshy banks of the river Amstel. (It was dam-
med in 1222 - hence the name, a contraction of
Amstelledamme.) As the town began to expand,
canals were cut to drain more land and provide
transport channels, and outer canals
were fortified. A glance at a map clearly
shows the limits of the medieval town,
bounded by the curved Singel, with the
Grachtengordel fanning out beyond.
Magere Brug
Built in 1672 and so narrow that it
was named the Skinny Bridge, this
much-loved double-leaf wooden
drawbridge was rebuilt in 1969.
Plan of Amsterdam (1648) showing the Grachtengordel
For details of canal tours
See p136
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