Page 15 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2016 - Amsterdam

Canals and Waterways ❮❮ 13

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Map of the canals
5 1 HOW AMSTERDAM’S
7 2 HOUSES ARE BUILT
JORDAAN OUDE
NIEUWE ZIJDE Each house is built on
9 ZIJDE wooden piles sunk into
4 the marshy, porous
6
PLANTAGE subsoil. It wasn’t until
the 17th century, when
3 8 the piles could be sunk
deep enough to reach
the hard layer of sand
that lies at 13 m (42 ft),
that any real stability
was achieved. Some
reach even further, to a
second layer of sand at
18 m (58 ft). If piles
come into contact with
air, they rot, so today,
concrete is used instead
of wood.
Amstel River
8
Before the
construct ion of the
Grachtengordel, the river
Amstel was the city’s
raison d’être. It is still
used by barges to
transport goods to the
city’s port.
Singel
9
The innermost ring
of the Grachtengordel, the
Singel was originally a
Bloemgracht
7 moat circling the city
Crossed by cast-iron bridges, this is known
during the Middle Ages.
locally as “the Herengracht of the Jordaan”, In the Golden Age it was
because of its elaborately gabled houses. lined with canal houses.
NEED TO KNOW
• Three perfect canal-side cafés are
Papeneiland, at Prinsengracht 2, van
Puffelen, where you can sit on a barge
in summer (see p106), and de
Sluyswacht (see p84).
• If you are short on time, at least take
a stroll to the Huis op de Drie Grachten,
(House on Three Canals), step-gabled
on all four of its canal-facing sides, at
Oudezijds Voorburgwal 249.
Brouwersgracht
Afterwards, visit Het Grachtenhuis 0
for a fascinating exhibition on the The happy-go-lucky feel of the
creation of Amsterdam’s canal ring “Brewers’ Canal” (above). makes a
(see p105). pleasant contrast to the sophistic ated
elegance of the Grachtengordel.

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