A new museum dedicated to Amsterdam’s impressive canal system, the Canal House Museum – or Het Grachtenhuis in Dutch – opens to the public tomorrow (April 1).
The Canal House Museum explores the history of the city’s famous canals, and allows visitors a glimpse into what life was like for residents in the iconic Canal District over the years.
Since Amsterdam was located on a swamp, the canals were necessary to make the land viable for construction. A museum display shows how the city looked before the advent of the canals, and includes models and cross-sections that illustrate how the city’s houses are built upon wooden poles for support.
The museum is housed in the Grachtenhuis mansion, a stately manor home built in the 17th century atop one of the canals, the Herengracht 386.
The building was once the residence of Jan Willink, a famous Dutch banker who provided loans to former U.S. president John Adams, helping to fund the War of Independence and construction of New York City.