Playing House
“One man’s house is another man’s castle”. And with nearly 400,000 living spaces in Amsterdam there certainly is a castle for everyone. You might have noticed that Amsterdam is a city of extremes, and this is just as evident in the type of houses you can find here. From the narrowest house in the world to a house of many heads, there are many interesting dwellings to dwell on here…
Wooden house
Wherever you go in Amsterdam, you can’t help but noticing that everything is built of brick. It wasn’t always this way though -- the original medieval buildings were made of wood. But following devastating fires in 1421 and 1452, where most of the city burned down, houses were no longer allowed to be built with wooden sides. In 1669, timber construction was banned outright. There are only two wooden houses left in Amsterdam: at Begijnhof 34 and Zeedijk 1.
Oldest house in Amsterdam
Begijnhof 34 is also the oldest house in Amsterdam, and is situated in what was a religious community for single women. "Het Houten Huys" (translated as "The Wooden House") was built in around 1425 and features a gothic timber frame. Although, Begijnhof 34 is the oldest house, the oldest building in Amsterdam is the Oude Kerk (Old Church), which was consecrated in 1306.
Narrowest house in the world
Amsterdam houses are famously narrow, and the narrowest house in the world is said to be at Singel number 7. The house is only a meter wide—not much wider than its front door. Appearances can be deceiving though as this is the back of the house. The front is a lot wider. The truly smallest house of Europe is at Oude Hoogstraat 22, between the Dam and Kloveniersburgwal. The house is only 2.02 meters wide and six meters deep.
Why are Amsterdam houses so narrow? Well, centuries ago houses were taxed on their frontage, so of course people started to build long, narrow, high houses to escape being heavily taxed.
Widest house in Amsterdam
Ironically one of the narrowest houses in Amsterdam, is also related to one of the widest – and even most unusual houses – in Amsterdam. The Trip House built in 1666 for two fortunate brothers Lodewijk and Hendrick Trip, is 22 metres wide and the most spacious residence in Amsterdam. The brothers made their fortune trading in arms, so there are even chimneys shaped like mortars. The house is located at Kloveniersburgwal 29 and is opposite an extremely narrow house with a wonderfully ornate. This house is only 2.44 meters wide, and legend has it that the Trip brothers built it for one of their servants after he exclaimed, “Oh my, I would be happy if I had a house that was only as wide as the front door of my masters' house.”.
Pictures and numbers
As you marvel at the narrow houses, you might notice that many have a plaque, located about half-way up the gable with a picture. This dates back to the middle-ages where many people couldn’t read. Houses were then identified by stone plaques depicting either the name or profession of the owner. Over 650 plaques have been preserved throughout Amsterdam, so keep an eye out for them. You do wonder sometimes just what the owner’s name or profession must have been, so odd the depictions. Street numbers were only introduced in Amsterdam when Napoleon came along.
Het Huis met de Hoofden (1622)
The house with the most heads in Amsterdam must be "Het Huis met de Hoofden" (meaning "The House with the Effigies") located at Keizersgracht 123. Dating back to 1622, the façade of this building boasts gargoyles, pillars and the heads that give it its name. No other 17th century building is so authentically preserved as this in all of Amsterdam.
Amsterdamse School
Amsterdam had its own version of the Art Deco style, called the Amsterdamse School. Whole neighbourhoods were built in this style, including the Rivierenbuurt (River neighbourhood). A notable feature of these building is that they are highly decorated and ornate, with oddly shaped windows and doors. One of the most famous residential buildings in this style is expressionist apartment block popularly known as Het Schip (The Ship).
Tree house
The Scheepstimmermanstraat is a street in the Eastern docklands area where people could employ their own architect to build their dream house, as long as the houses complied with strict conditions. The maximum allowable height was 9.2 meters and the ground floor level had to be 3.5 meters high. The front doors are on Scheepstimmermanstraat, while the houses back on to the water with large windows. One of these houses is built around a tree, which extends through the roof to the outside. A true tree house.
Most famous house in Amsterdam
Possibly the most famous house in Amsterdam is the Anne Frank house, which draws around a million visitors a year. For over two years Anne Frank and her family lived in hiding in the annex of the building at Prinsengracht 263 where Anne’s father, Otto Frank, had his business.
ARCAM Amsterdam Centre for Architecture
If this article has whet your appetite for more architectural tidbits, then the ARCAM Amsterdam Centre for Architecture is for you. Aptly housed in a very striking building, the ARCAM is an information point where architecture aficionados are directed to interesting buildings and sites in the city. You can also consult a large number of architecture books, magazines, folders, sites, maps and a collection of newspaper cuttings. There are frequently interesting exhibitions and admission is free.
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