Rows of narrow windowless building lot, peeking from behind the trees that line up neatly from a distance the buildings look like toy building. Each displays the beauty competition. While the edge, the boat gliding leisurely along the canal, carrying passengers anywhere either. This is the Herengracht, Amsterdam, in the eyes of Jan van Der Heyden, Dutch painter. The scene is painted around the year 1670 was barely changed in the present. Change was going on in the canal by the ships now noisy tourist passenger machine. The buildings that appear in the paintings remain stable, timeless and modernization.

Try along areas such as surround Prinsengracht canal or the Keizersgracht, the architecture of the building is so unique and compelling. The area is characterized by slender buildings, tall, windowless lot, covered decorative standing coincide. The width of the buildings built in the 17th century was roughly about 9 meters. The narrowness of the building is an effort to avoid high taxes. Understandably at that time, the building tax is calculated based on the width of the building, thus the narrower the building the lower the tax too.

Amsterdam is the past preserved. Old buildings had been left abandoned or replaced by new buildings, but maintained and operational. Amsterdam has about 20,000 old buildings, where approximately one-third built in the 17th century. Most of these buildings have historical value and are protected by the Dutch government. So many monumental buildings in Amsterdam city center so that UNESCO was nominated for entry into the UNESCO World Heritage List.
» Read more: Amsterdam the Classic Beautiful City