Perhaps every city has its own special spirit. In the “Venice of the North,” Amsterdam, it hovers over its canals. So, how many canals are there in Amsterdam? Just imagine: the city already has over 165 (more than in real Venice), with a total length of over 90 km.
If you look at the city from a bird’s eye view, you can see that the canals encircle the old part of Amsterdam in four concentric semicircles, which, incidentally, form about 90 islands connected by bridges, the number of which has already exceeded 1,200!
Impressive, isn’t it? They are a masterpiece of engineering, a symbol of this city’s resilience, tenacity, and adventurism. Amsterdam’s canals even captured the imagination of Tsar Peter the Great during his stay in Amsterdam. He later even began canal construction in St. Petersburg.
The Grand Canals, dug as early as the 17th century—the Prinsengracht (Princes’ Canal), Keizersgracht (Emperors’ Canal), and Herengracht (Lords’ Canal)—were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2010, exactly 10 years ago, further cementing Amsterdam’s reputation as the “Venice of the North.” Amsterdam’s canals are not just a marvel of engineering, but a phenomenon ahead of their time.
