Canals of Amsterdam

In the 1600s Amsterdam was one of the richest cities in the world, and it was bursting at the seams. So the city dug three wide canals in half-circles around the old centre, and built tall, narrow merchants' houses along them.

The ground is soft and wet, so every house stands on wooden poles driven deep into the earth. The canals were streets for boats: goods were hoisted straight from the water into the attics.