CULTURE
CLASSIC FANTASTIC The imposing gables, the skinny profiles, the enviable canal views – Amsterdam’s canal houses, home to Dutch merchants in the 1600s, speak to the imagination. Want to get a glimpse of what life was like behind the classical façades? You can peer into the past at these stately residences. Words: Grete Simkuté
MERCHANT’S MANSION
House Marseille
Can’t make up your mind whether to visit a contemporary photography museum or see the interior of a wealthy merchant’s 17th-century canal house? You don’t have to choose; House Marseille is both. The monumental residence was built around 1655 for a French merchant, and three hundred years later, the original layout of the house – with a garden and a small house behind – is still largely intact. Make sure to look up when you’re inside. The original ceiling painting by master decorator Jacob de Wit will take your breath away.
Willet Holthuysen
Welcome to Herengracht 605: a double-fronted town house that will instantly transport you back to life as it was in the 17th century – for the wealthy upper class, we might add. The canal house is named after the well-to-do Louisa Holthuysen and her husband Abraham Willet, the main residents of the dwelling. The impressive ballroom and dining room bear witness to the lavish lifestyle of the Willet-Holthuysen couple, while the kitchen in the basement gives a good impression of the day-to-day life of their servants.
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photo house marseille: eddo hartmann
DUTCH DOWNTON ABBEY