The Narrowest Houses in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Local lore has it that it's het smalste huis ter wereld: the narrowest house in the world. While that's not exactly the case (see below), the house at Singel 7 is certainly an architectural curiosity worth a quick peek while in the city center. The side of the house that faces onto the Singel, one of Amsterdam's most prominent (and innermost) canals, is just one meter (3.3 feet) wide, scarcely wider than the door, with windows stacked one above the other.
However, what visitors see from the Singel is actually the back of the house; the front is considerably wider and comparable to other Amsterdam row houses. Nevertheless, the not-so-narrow house has become a popular tourist attraction in Amsterdam (and is conveniently close to another Amsterdam oddity, the Cat Boat).
An even narrower house, more worthy of the title of smalste huis, is located at Oude Hoogstraat 22. Some say it's indeed the narrowest house in Europe, a claim that's difficult to verify; nevertheless, with a full width - not just a facade - of two meters (6.6 feet), and just six meters (19.7 feet) deep. Its slate facade, with doors and windows outlined in a maroon trim, stands next to a formidable portal emblazoned with the city's coat of arms, which features the ubiquitous triple X's.
Few visitors ever ask about the widest house in the city, but this too is a fantastic Amsterdam monument. The Trippenhuis, a mid-17th-century canal house at Kloveniersburgwal 29, measures 22 meters - 72 feet - across; it once housed the affluent brothers Lodewijk and Hendrick Trip, but now houses the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.
However, what visitors see from the Singel is actually the back of the house; the front is considerably wider and comparable to other Amsterdam row houses. Nevertheless, the not-so-narrow house has become a popular tourist attraction in Amsterdam (and is conveniently close to another Amsterdam oddity, the Cat Boat).
An even narrower house, more worthy of the title of smalste huis, is located at Oude Hoogstraat 22. Some say it's indeed the narrowest house in Europe, a claim that's difficult to verify; nevertheless, with a full width - not just a facade - of two meters (6.6 feet), and just six meters (19.7 feet) deep. Its slate facade, with doors and windows outlined in a maroon trim, stands next to a formidable portal emblazoned with the city's coat of arms, which features the ubiquitous triple X's.
Few visitors ever ask about the widest house in the city, but this too is a fantastic Amsterdam monument. The Trippenhuis, a mid-17th-century canal house at Kloveniersburgwal 29, measures 22 meters - 72 feet - across; it once housed the affluent brothers Lodewijk and Hendrick Trip, but now houses the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.
