place

Gouden Bocht

Canals in AmsterdamGeography of AmsterdamNorth Holland geography stubs
Gouden bocht
Gouden bocht

The Gouden Bocht (English: "Golden Bend") is the most prestigious part of the Herengracht in Amsterdam, Netherlands, between Leidsestraat and Vijzelstraat. Until 1663 the Herengracht reached as far as the present Leidsegracht. From that year on, the fortifications around Amsterdam were expanded, within the Herengracht, the Keizersgracht and the Prinsengracht which were expanded. The digging ended at the river Amstel within a few years. The buyers on the Herengracht were encouraged to buy two lots and built double-wide mansions, and because the three canals here were laid out a little further from each other, and the lots were also deeper. On these large lots, the well-to-do placed their city-palaces with classicist facades, stuccoed ceilings, and fine gardens, once a year open to the public. In the curve, by the Nieuwe Spiegelstraat, lived Amsterdam's richest citizens, and so this part of the belt of canals was named the "Golden Bend" in recent history. The house of the family De Neufville (1731), located at Herengracht 475 and 476, is known as having the prettiest facades. Herengracht 466, on the corner of the Nieuwe Spiegelstraat was designed by Philip Vingboons and from 1858 until 1926 the office of the Dutch Trade-Society. On the other corner (Herengracht 464) was the office of former lawyer Bram Moszkowicz. The Golden Bend is now mainly made up of banks and other financial institutions, some cultural institutions, like Goethe Institute, as well as a small private-museum, the Kattenkabinet (Herengracht 497).

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Gouden Bocht (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Gouden Bocht
Herengracht, Amsterdam Centrum

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Gouden BochtContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 52.365555555556 ° E 4.8905555555556 °
placeShow on map

Address

Herengracht 485
1017 BT Amsterdam, Centrum
North Holland, Netherlands
mapOpen on Google Maps

Gouden bocht
Gouden bocht
Share experience

Nearby Places

Heiligeweg
Heiligeweg

The Heiligeweg (Dutch - Holy Street or Holy Way) is the street in Amsterdam that used to lead from the Kapel ter Heilige Stede (Chapel of the Holy Site, a pilgrimage chapel on the site where the 1345 Miracle of Amsterdam occurred) to the Kalverstraat. Increasing numbers of pilgrims to this shrine made necessary a new street leading from Sloten to the shrine, and this new street became known as the Holy Way. Between the Kalverstraat and the Singel may be seen part of the Holy Way in its original medieval form, for constructions built during medieval city expansion may be found here, outside the Holy Way Gate). The way continued roughly along the line of the present Leidsestraat, and further, via the (now lost) Heiligewegse Vaart (later called the Overtoomse Vaart, and since 1902, just the Overtoom). From the Overtoom via the Schinkel the Heiligeweg went on via the Sloterkade and Sloterstraatweg (now the Rijnsburgstraat and Sloterweg) to Sloten. The sections between Sloten and Haarlem has been eaten up by the Haarlemmermeer. Much of the route between Sloten and the Overtoomse Sluis is still present (Sloterweg and Sloterkade). A large part has vanished due to the construction of a business park. Up to around 1500 this was one of the most important overland routes between Amsterdam and Kennemerland and, from there, with the rest of Holland. In 1904 electric tram number 1 replaced the horse-drawn tram from Leidscheplein – Amstelveenscheweg that had run since 1877. Today the Holy Street is a shopping street connecting the two popular shopping streets Kalverstraat and Leidsestraat to each other. Halfway along the Heiligeweg may be found the Voetboogstraat with its 1603 Rasphuispoortje.