Imperial View. Keizersbrug and Oudeschans, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Amsterdam in the early sixteenth century was attacked by Guelders enemies and part of the city was burned down. In order to prevent such calamities in future it was decided to dig a new, defensive moat or canal then called the Nieuwe Gracht. Along it rose fortifications, hence the name Oudeschans, the latter part of that name means: bulwark. By the end of the century the city had expanded and its defenses were laid further out towards the southeast. The Oudeschans bulwarks were no longer necessary and they were torn down to make way for warehouses and fashionable homes, some notably for members of the boards of the great seventeenth-century Dutch trading companies, the VOC and the WIC.
Several bridges crossed the Oudeschans. One of these in front of the Keizersstraat. Down through the centuries those bridges were replaced. In 1982 a new bridge was built to the design of Dirk Louis Sterenberg (1921-1996). Discerning features are the brick and natural stone bannisters (in the photo's foreground). To favor history, the bridge retained the name 'Keizersbrug' though it is in fact an extension of the (Korte) Koningsstraat.
The view is notably of the Montelbaanstoren (left) - once part of the bulwarks - and of the green, ship-shaped NEMO museum of natural history in the distance. On the far right at the end of that row of houses you can just see that the low Sun is lighting up the gables of what was once the headquarters of the WIC.
It was a glorius Winter's day
Imperial View. Keizersbrug and Oudeschans, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Amsterdam in the early sixteenth century was attacked by Guelders enemies and part of the city was burned down. In order to prevent such calamities in future it was decided to dig a new, defensive moat or canal then called the Nieuwe Gracht. Along it rose fortifications, hence the name Oudeschans, the latter part of that name means: bulwark. By the end of the century the city had expanded and its defenses were laid further out towards the southeast. The Oudeschans bulwarks were no longer necessary and they were torn down to make way for warehouses and fashionable homes, some notably for members of the boards of the great seventeenth-century Dutch trading companies, the VOC and the WIC.
Several bridges crossed the Oudeschans. One of these in front of the Keizersstraat. Down through the centuries those bridges were replaced. In 1982 a new bridge was built to the design of Dirk Louis Sterenberg (1921-1996). Discerning features are the brick and natural stone bannisters (in the photo's foreground). To favor history, the bridge retained the name 'Keizersbrug' though it is in fact an extension of the (Korte) Koningsstraat.
The view is notably of the Montelbaanstoren (left) - once part of the bulwarks - and of the green, ship-shaped NEMO museum of natural history in the distance. On the far right at the end of that row of houses you can just see that the low Sun is lighting up the gables of what was once the headquarters of the WIC.
It was a glorius Winter's day