Keizersgracht Amsterdam by Michael van der Burg

About "Keizersgracht Amsterdam"

by Michael van der Burg

About the artwork

The Keizersgracht, the second of Amsterdam's three main canals that make up the ring of canals, lies between Herengracht and Prinsengracht The first part of the Keizersgracht (between Brouwersgracht and (approximately) today's Leidsegracht was dug in the summer of 1615 on the initiative of mayor Frans Hendricksz. Oetgens, city carpenter Hendrick Jacobsz Staets and city land surveyor Lucas Jansz Sinck. The Keizersgracht, named after Emperor Maximilian I of the Holy Roman Empire,[1] is the widest canal in the centre of Amsterdam, namely one hundred Amsterdam feet, i.e. 28.31 metres. In September 1614, there was still an idea to turn the Keizersgracht into a chic boulevard without water, following the example of the Voorhout in The Hague. This was abandoned for a few reasons. The vroedschap suspected that future buyers of plots on Keizersgracht wanted to be able to reach their homes or warehouses by boat. Other considerations may have included the need for water storage, easier transportation of building and embankment materials, but especially the shortage of embankment material. The construction of the fortifications also required a lot of embankment material at the same time. In November 1615, the allotment on the east side was completed. At 30 feet, the plots were given the same width as at Herengracht. Building proceeded rapidly: by 1618, there were hardly any undeveloped plots. The section between Leidsegracht and Amstel belonged to the fourth expansion (1658). In