DE GOUDEN BOCHT - THE GOLDILOCKS
Superb portion of the Herengracht that testifies to the past splendour of the Golden Age. We are transported in a living painting.
This is how the most prestigious part of the Herengracht, the canal of the Lords, is called. It is located between the Leidsestraat (a pleasant shopping street) and the Vijzelstraat. It is in this part of the canal that the rich, very rich merchant families settled during the Golden Age in sumptuous mansions, works of great architects that still testify today to the prosperity of yesteryear. The Nieuwe Spiegelstraat in particular was once the place where this luxury was at its greatest. In the 1660s, the canal was extended from the Leidsegracht. The famous coveted plots were sold between 1664 and 1665. The city encouraged the purchase of double plots. The richest families had sumptuous houses built by renowned architects such as Philippe Vingboons and Adriaan Dortsman. These houses are distinguished by their lavishly decorated classical facades with ornate ceilings and gardens with statues and garden pavilions. At numbers 475 and 476 is the most beautiful mansion on the canal and even in the city, the Huis van Neuville. Atnos. 516 and 518 of the canal, an imposing warehouse is named Harmonie (you can see why). Atno. 497 is the attractive Kattenkabinet.No. 502 houses a beautiful building where the mayor, Femke Halsema, lives. The Goethe Institute is also located on this canal, at number 470.
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