These impressive sluices on the Amstel river, near Koninklijk Theater Carré, date from 1674 and are still in use to today. They allow the canals to be flushed with fresh water from lakes north of the city, rather than salt water from the IJ River, an innovation that made the city more livable. The locks are shut while fresh water flows in, while the sluices on the western side of the city are left open as the stagnant water is pumped out to sea.

Transportation

  • tram: 4 Prinsengracht

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Magere Brug

0.1 MILES

Dating from the 1670s, the nine-arched 'Skinny Bridge' has had several incarnations, first in timber and later in concrete. It has a hand-operated central…

2. H'Art Museum

0.21 MILES

Formerly a branch of St Petersburg’s State Hermitage Museum, H'Art Museum cut ties with Russia and now operates as an independent museum.

3. Gijsbert Dommer Huis

0.24 MILES

This handsome greystone house is known dramatically as the 'House with the Blood Stains'. Six-time mayor and diplomat Coenraad van Beuningen lost his…

4. De Duif

0.27 MILES

In 1796, following the French-installed government’s proclamation of religious freedom, De Duif became the Netherlands’ first Catholic church to be built…

5. Amstelkerk

0.28 MILES

Looking more like a country house than a church, the pinewood Amstelkerk was erected in 1668 as a noodkerk (makeshift church) under the direction of the…

6. Museum Willet-Holthuysen

0.29 MILES

This exquisite canal house was built in 1687 for Amsterdam mayor Jacob Hop, then remodelled in 1739. It's named after Louisa Willet-Holthuysen, who…

7. Blauwbrug

0.3 MILES

Built in 1884, this highly decorated stone bridge replaced an old, blue (hence the name) wooden crossing that had connected these shores of the Amstel…

8. Tassenmuseum Hendrikje

0.34 MILES

This grand 17th-century canal-house museum has a covetable collection of arm candy. More than 5000 bags can be found here, including a medieval pouch,…

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