Amsterdam - Herengracht

The origins of the Herengracht go back to the year 1612, when a plan to create a girdle of canals (Heren- Keizers- and Prinzengracht) was made. The project was completed in 1658. In Amsterdam's heyday (second half of 17th C.) the Herengracht was the most elegant residential district. To live here was so popular that the magistrate had to confine the width of the aristocrats' houses to 8 m, but of course there were exceptions, such as the "House for a Prince" (No. 54). Behind the aristocratic houses with their magnificent facade (no fewer than 400 houses in the Herengracht are protected monuments), beautiful gardens were concealed, each of them exactly 51·5 m (169ft.) long. The layout of these gardens represented unbelievable luxury for a