Since their beginning, the Amsterdam Canals have been renowned for their beauty, monumental architecture and picturesque character. However, the Amsterdam Canals have also been extraordinary witnesses to the unprecedented economic, political and cultural flourishing of Amsterdam during the Golden Age. The elegant mansion on the Herengracht 386, in which the museum Het Grachtenhuis is situated, is a place where all the qualities of the Amsterdam Golden Age come together.
The richly decorated period rooms on the bel-étage (formal floor) were specifically built for official welcomes and events in noblemen manors since the 17th century. They were representative of the owners status and importance. These rooms have been very well preserved and show us the result of the proud owners which occupied Herengracht 386 for four centuries.
In these rooms exhibits are included that shed further light on the relationship between one of the former residents, banker Jan Willink and John Adams (President of the United States of America), as well as the family of the famous architect of the house, Philips Vingboons.
Philips Vingboons (1607-1678), contemporary of Rembrandt and Newton, was and still is recognized as one of the most important architects in the history of Amsterdam.
\r\nVingboons was raised in an artistically gifted family. His father, David Vingboons, was a famous painter and engraver. His brothers, Pieter, Johannes en Justus were cartographers, engravers and architects. In 1637, Vingboons started his independent career as an architect. In several parts of Amsterdam he built houses for a mixed clientele: governors, rich merchants, industrialists and also for the rising middle class.
\r\nIn 1648 Vingboons published his first architecture book, with in it etchings of his best designs. Because of his book Vingboons was known by noblemen from outside Amsterdam. In the whole Dutch Republic, Vingboons designed many manors for wealthy noblemen.
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Europe guide, April 2011
Between 1663 and approximately 1665, the successful merchant Karel Gerards has his stately house built on the Herengracht, the canal in Amsterdam belonging to the Rulers of the city. Since then, the Herengracht 386 has accommodated many prominent merchants and bankers like Pieter Pels and Jan Willink. In the rooms of this building many important transactions took place with Russian aristocracy, French kings and the upper class from the United States.
\r\nThe best known transactions, and probably the most substantial ones, are those of Jan Willink with the government of the United States. Willink supported the American government during the War of Independence for many years with credit loans and stocks. Until 1794, the United States were to borrow more than 30 million from Willink and other banking houses, an astronomical figure for that time.
", "gallery_type": 0, "slug": "residents"}, {"gallery_id": 6, "title": "Garden", "id": 25, "content": "The design of the garden of Het Grachtenhuis is inspired on a ‘keurblok’, which lies between the Herengracht and the Keizersgracht. A keur is a statute and a ‘keurblok’ is a block of houses defined by such a decree. Amongst the green, the fences between the houses give the suggestion of partitions or divisions. The ‘keurblok’ shows that the width of the houses must have been determined first, in order to give the partitions an equal distance from each other. On some occasions, a resident might have bought two plots of land to build a double fronted house, as in the case of Het Grachtenhuis. In the seventeenth century, a ‘keurblok’ was integral in protecting the inner-city against over-industrialisation. Residents were not permitted to build on the plots of land between the houses on Herengracht and Keizersgracht. It was also decreed that a large proportion of these plots had to be devoted to garden space. Thus every canal house complete with its garden and summer house formed its own inseparable unit. Even today, these gardens are of crucial significance in defining the beauty of the Amsterdam canals.
", "gallery_type": 0, "slug": "garden"}, {"content": "\r\nDocumentary (short version - 09:45 min.)
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