We got up around 8 am and watched the
city in the early morning. Shops open around 10 and 11 am, so it is
relatively quiet until then. We walked around the canals and
discovered that each canal in a half moon and the name of the canal
represent the class of people who live on and around the area. Per
example Prinzen Gracht is for lower middle-class people, Keizers
Gracht is middle to upper class merchants, Heren Gracht is the
wealthy upper class, the Heren were the Watchmen of the City and you
had to be rich to do guard duty because of the cost of armour and
weapons, etc... Civic duty placed those citizens of the city at the
forefront. They paid for the militia and deputies who did the
watching for them.
Detail of a larger painting representing the Heren or the city watchmen, see the wealth of their clothes.
We also discovered that the name of the
city was a composition of the name of the Amstel river and Dam which
is the central point of the city itself. The Royal Family, House of
Orange lives in the capital The Hague which is merely minutes away
from Amsterdam. The royals do not own any of the Palaces, they are
put at their disposal by the people and the Government.
Amsterdam is a city of about 790,000
people, smaller than Ottawa but with a far superior and more
developed public transport system than anything we can dream of back
home. We saw hundreds of people riding their bikes throughout the
city, we have been told many times to be careful to look both ways
before crossing any streets, bikes have the right of way.
We had the most beautiful boat ride
around the city and we gained a better understanding of the urban
plan of Amsterdam and had a good look at the architecture, most, if
not all of it, dates from the golden age of The Netherlands as a commercial
shipping and trade magnet between Asia and Europe 1600 and 1790.
The houses are tall often 4 to 5
floors, but the frontage is narrow, some less then 2 meter wide at
the front. Taxation on a property was calculated on the width of your
property at the front street side. So many houses are very narrow at
the front but much wider at the back. Similar to what we saw in
Vietnam a few years ago.
As early as 1520 the Dutch traded in
spices, rare cloth and other precious items. Their main competitors
at the time was Portugal. Some of those spices like clove came from
Malacca and was extremely expensive. The Dutch also raided the
Spanish fleet transporting the Silver from the Americas annually to
Spain. These raids were done on orders from the West Indies Company whose
board resided and operated from Amsterdam and coveted the silver for the
companies fortune and stock holders greater joy. One such raid
brought in the equivalent if compared with today, of 500 billion Euros in silver ingots, a
phenomenal sum of money then and now.
Spain had been the colonial master of The Netherlands for many centuries, the Dutch revolted under the leadership of the Prince of Orange and rid themselves of the Spanish Regents. It happened at the same time as Calvin and his brand of Protestantism was gaining popularity. Catholic churches were seen as the power base of Spain, they were taken over and altered to meet the new Protestant standard. We visited several Calvinist churches in Amsterdam and they have no decoration inside, no statues, no Altar and no crosses. Only a pulpit to preach the gospel and an organ for music.
Wester Kerk on the Prinzen Gracht
Amsterdam was an very rich commercial
city and due to international trade, developed rapidly during those years, what we
see today is the result of this wealth.
We then walked to the Rijksmuseum,
currently under renovation until 2013. However the great masters and
other works of art can be viewed. Vermeer, Rembrandt, Van Ruisdael,
etc are on view, reflecting the views and taste of their wealthy
patrons who sought portraits of themselves and their families, often
in a very familiar setting of every day life, though dressed in their
most expensive clothes and jewellery.
An interesting fact on Rembrandt was
that he died a pauper despite the fact that he became quite wealthy
during his life but he wasted his money on various curios, so much so
that when he declared bankruptcy the bailiff made a list of all
these many objects for sale, it makes for interesting reading.
Rembrandt is buried in the Wester Kerk, the one with the blue
imperial Crown at top of its steeple. But no one is sure where
exactly his remains are in the church floor, his wife and son Titus are also buried there in marked
graves. The church is next door to the Anne Frank House but we did
not go in, the lines and wait times were impossible and the house is
quite small.
We returned home a little tired but on
such a beautiful sunny day it is a pleasure to walk along the canals
of this city.
