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Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, has more than one hundred kilometres of canals, about 90 islands and 1,500 bridges. The three main canals, Herengracht, Prinsengracht, and Keizersgracht, dug in the 17th century during the Dutch Golden Age, form concentric belts around the city, known as the ''Grachtengordel''. Alongside the main canals are 1550 monumental buildings. The 17th-century canal ring area, including the Prinsengracht, Keizersgracht, Herengracht and Jordaan, were placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2010,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Seventeenth-century canal ring area of Amsterdam inside the Singelgracht - UNESCO World Heritage Centre )〕 contributing to Amsterdam's fame as the "Venice of the North".〔(【引用サイトリンク】title= Amsterdamhotspots.nl )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=World Executive City Guides - Amsterdam )〕 ==History== Much of the Amsterdam canal system is the successful outcome of city planning. In the early part of the 17th century, with immigration rising, a comprehensive plan was put together, calling for four main, concentric half-circles of canals with their ends resting on the IJ Bay. Known as the "grachtengordel",〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Grachtengordel )〕 three of the canals are mostly for residential development (Herengracht or ‘’Patricians' Canal’’; Keizersgracht or ‘’Emperor's Canal’’; and Prinsengracht or ‘’Prince's Canal’’), and a fourth, outer canal, Singelgracht, for purposes of defense and water management. The plan also envisaged interconnecting canals along radii; a set of parallel canals in the Jordaan quarter (primarily for the transportation of goods, for example, beer); the conversion of an existing, inner perimeter canal (Singel) from a defensive purpose to residential and commercial development; and more than one hundred bridges. The defensive purpose of the Nassau/Stadhouderskade was served by moat and earthen dikes, with gates at transit points but otherwise no masonry superstructures. Construction proceeded from west to east, across the breadth of the layout, like a gigantic windshield wiper as the historian Geert Mak calls it – ''not'' from the center outwards as a popular myth has it. Construction of the north-western sector was started in 1613 and was finished around 1625. After 1664, building in the southern sector was started, although slowly because of an economic depression. The eastern part of the concentric canal plan, covering the area between the Amstel river and the IJ Bay, was not implemented for a long time. In the following centuries, the land went mostly for park, the Botanical garden, old age homes, theaters and other public facilities – and for waterways without much plan. Several parts of the city and of the urban area are polders, recognisable by their postfix ''-meer'' meaning 'lake', such as Aalsmeer, Bijlmermeer, Haarlemmermeer, and Watergraafsmeer. The canals in Amsterdam are now used as a main form of transportation around the city. File:Amsterdam1662.jpg|A map showing Amsterdam with its canals from 1662 File:Gerrit Adriaensz. Berckheyde - De bocht van de Herengracht te Amsterdam.jpg|The Gouden Bocht (Golden Bend) File:Jan van der Heyden - View of the Westerkerk, Amsterdam - WGA11405.jpg|View of the Westerkerk, c. 1660 File:Jan van der Heyden 002.jpg|Amsterdam's canal, second half of 17th century File:Jan van der Heyden 003.jpg|View of Oudezijds Voorburgwal, c. 1670 File:View of the Herengracht, Amsterdam 1670 Jan van der Heyden.jpg|View of the Herengracht, c. 1670 File:The Martelaarsgracht in Amsterdam 1670 Jan van der Heyden.jpg|The Martelaarsgracht, c. 1670 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Canals of Amsterdam」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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