Wow-me canal-me

Herengracht = ‘’Gentleman's Canal’’
The section of this canal which runs from Leidsestraat to Vijzelstraat is known as the ‘Golden Bend’. The most beautiful and most magnificent of all canal houses are located in this bend of the canal. A lovely example is the house on the corner with Leidsegracht. It features a beautiful Dutch classicist clock gable. The house is named after the plaque featuring four knights on horseback (Vier Heemskinderen). Several of the other houses sport family coats of arms.



Keizersgracht = ‘’Emperor's Canal’’

From number 40 Keizersgracht you see four warehouses where once 100,000 liters of cod liver oil were stored. Behind number 100 you see Cultural Center De Rode Hoed (The Red Hat). Number 123 is the ‘House with the Heads’. Legend has it that the maid caught six burglars red-handed and beheaded them with an axe. Number 546 boasts one of Amsterdam’s most beautiful clock gables.

A plaque in the wall of number 560 reminds us of the fact that writer/lawyer Jacob van Lennep lived here from 1830 until his death in 1868. Van Lennep is responsible for supplying the city with clean drinking water from the dunes. As a result, the poor people no longer had to drink the polluted water from the canals.



Prinsengracht = ‘’Prince's Canal’’
Some of the houses on this canal are very old indeed. The Papeneiland pub at number 2 dates from the 17th century! Holland’s first professional school for nurses, the Prinsengracht Hospital, is also located along this canal. The Wallon Orphanage stands at the corner with Vijzelgracht. The building’s wing on Prinsengracht dates from 1726.

The Prinsengracht also boasts a church, the St. Willibrord Church. It is better known as De Duif (The Pigeon). Number 808 features a porcelain tile with an advertisement for an insurance company. Reckless people meet with misfortune while the more cautious types – predictably – find fortune.