Amsterdam - Achterburgwal
The Nieuwezijds Achterburgwal was dug as a canal in 1380 when the town was being developed and extended from the Spui, the original city boundary, to the Hekelfeld. The canal was filled in 1867, much to the annoyance of some of the shopkeepers in the Kalverstraat who were afraid that the resultant Spuistraat would become a shopping street in competition with their own.
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Must-see attractions nearby:
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Their worries were unfounded because Spuistraat has mainly become a street of offices.
The Oudezijds Achterburgwal was excavated in about 1385 behind the Oudezijds Voorburgwal as a second defensive canal, and stretches from the Grimburgwal to the Zeedijk. It is the narrowest Burgwal and used to be one of the "better" residential areas. Proof of this is the inscription "Fluweelenburgwal" on the gables of the Driegrachtenhuis (the "House on the three canals" where Grimburgwal, O.Z. Voorburgwal and O.Z. Achterburgwal meet) which alludes to the fact that the prominent citizens of the 17th C. dressed in silk and satin.
The Oudezijds Achterburgwal was excavated in about 1385 behind the Oudezijds Voorburgwal as a second defensive canal, and stretches from the Grimburgwal to the Zeedijk. It is the narrowest Burgwal and used to be one of the "better" residential areas. Proof of this is the inscription "Fluweelenburgwal" on the gables of the Driegrachtenhuis (the "House on the three canals" where Grimburgwal, O.Z. Voorburgwal and O.Z. Achterburgwal meet) which alludes to the fact that the prominent citizens of the 17th C. dressed in silk and satin.
Related Attractions
Achterburgwal No. 47
House No. 47, Achterburgwal, among others, is worth seeing. Nowadays the property of the Salvation Army, it used to be the house of the Lieutenant in Rembrandt's painting "The Night Watch".
