From the water
The Gentlemen's Canal is considered to be the most important canal in Amsterdam. In the seventeenth century the richest merchants, the mayors, and the most influential regents of the city resided here, and you can notice that by looking at the houses. In 1812 a new tax system was introduced to the Netherlands by Napoleon. It was based not on your income, but on the width of the house, the number of windows, and the steps leading to the front door. A good example of a house where you would pay a lot of tax is the house with the red banner on it. Squares inside the windows were counted as normal windows. But people did it on purpose, because at that time there were not many options to show your power to society, and to potential business partners. If someone could not pay the tax, the city would come with a huge hammer and smash the steps leading to the front door in front of the whole neighbourhood, so you would have to use the servants' door, which was public humiliation at that time. To avoid paying the tax, or to reduce the amount, some homeowners chose to reduce the number of windows and doors in their properties, simply by bricking up the window or door. To this day you can still find buildings in the old city centre where a window has been bricked up, while the outline of where the window once sat is still clearly visible.
The story behind it
The Herengracht, the Gentlemen’s Canal, was the first of the three main canals of the 17th-century canal ring. It was named after the Heeren Regeerders, the men who governed the city.
The stretch between Leidsestraat and Vijzelstraat is known as the Golden Bend: here the richest merchants built double-width mansions with lavish gardens hidden behind the facades.
On your cruise
This is stop 14 of 23 on the Friendship route. Before this you passed The Amstel, and the boat continues towards Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Your skipper will point it out as you pass — keep your camera ready, because from the water you see details that are easily missed from the street.
Want to see it in person? All our cruises follow the heart of this route, and with a private cruise you can even ask your skipper to linger a little longer at your favourite spots.
