Amsterdam’s magnificent semicircle of three canals – Prinsengracht, Keizersgracht and Herengracht – is the city’s defining characteristic. Lined by elegant gabled houses, and connected by intimate cross-streets, it was devised in the early 17th century to cope with the rapid rise in population, and was built in two stages during the century. This costly Plan of Three Canals was purely aesthetic, taking no account of existing waterways. The land along the banks was sold in single plots; the wealthy bought two together so that they could build larger houses. Amsterdam had its unlikely beginnings some 400 years before, when a fishing settlement grew up on the marshy banks of the river Amstel. (It was dammed in 1222 – hence the name, a contraction of Amstelledamme.) As the town began to expand, canals were cut to drain more land and provide transport channels, and outer canals were fortified. When you look at the map of Amsterdam, a glance at a map clearly shows the limits of the medieval town, bounded by the curved Singel, with the Grachtengordel fanning out beyond.
In this Grachtengordel, there are top 10 bridges which as follows:
1 Magere Brug (Amstel)
2 Blauwbrug (Amstel)
3 Hogesluis (Amstel)
4 Nieuwe Amstelbrug (Amstel)
5 Berlagebrug (Amstel)
6 Torensluis (Singel)
7 St Antoniessluis (Zwanenburgwal)
8 Seven hump-back bridges (Reguliersgracht)
9 White wooden drawbridges (Western Islands)
10 Sleutelbrug (Oudezijds Voorburgwal)
One of the brigdes is Magere Brug. It was built in 1672 and so narrow that it was named the Skinny Bridge, this much-loved double-leaf wooden drawbridge was rebuilt in 1969.