Trippenhuis (Trip House)

The Trippenhuis (Trip House) was built in 1666 for two wealthy brothers named Lodewijk and Hendrick Trip. At 22 metres wide, it is the most spacious residence in Amsterdam. The house was designed by Justus Vingboons, the younger brother of the better-known Philip Vingboons. The two designed a number of different houses in Amsterdam for VOC (Dutch East India Company) administrators and well-off merchants.

Brothers in arms The Trip brothers made their fortune trading in arms, so the house features chimneys shaped like mortars, canons engraved on the facade and an imposing gunpowder grey exterior. The house was shared by the two brothers and literally divided equally. A bisecting wall can still be seen in the middle window. Mr. Trip’s coachman The Trip House is opposite an extremely narrow house with a wonderfully ornate facade. Legend has it that the Trip brothers built it for their coachman 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 master's house."