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. 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