Amsterdam's Keizersgracht in the evening by Jeroen de Jongh Photography

Keizersgracht, the second of Amsterdam's three main canals that make up the ring of canals, lies between Herengracht and Prinsengracht. The Keizersgracht, named after Emperor Maximilian I of the Holy Roman Empire and dug between 1615 and 1667, is, at 31 metres, the widest canal in the centre of Amsterdam. A remarkable detail is that the Keizersgracht was dug later than the Prinsengracht, while the Keizersgracht is the second canal of the three main canals.

The city government was committed to keeping the canals as high-quality and respectable as possible. Building on courtyards was prohibited, and both the Herengracht and Keizersgracht were also not given a connection to the IJ to ensure peace and quiet on the water.

The Prinsengracht, on the other hand, did have this, making it busy, and back streets were constructed, such as the Kerkstraat between the Keizersgracht and the Prinsengracht, to prevent activities from taking place on the Keizersgracht itself that would 'look out of place' there and to direct traffic away from the canal. The Kerkstraat also allowed wealthy citizens to build a coach house at the rear of their properties.

Soon, wealthy Amsterdammers settled on the Keizersgracht. They had large houses built, the well-known stately merchant houses. These were, despite the variation that can be seen today, often uniform. There was a fixed plot size and so most canal houses were long and narrow. On the front façade 3 windows and 4 to 5 storeys high was the recurring image.

After the last urban expansion, the Vierde Uitleg, it became possible to buy several plots next to each other. The most elite Amsterdammers were only too happy to buy double and triple canal houses and build stone palaces on the embankments of the Keizersgracht.