For many centuries, architecture and its unlimited possibilities remained in the hands of the rich and the influential. Design was beyond the reach of common man.
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| The Palace of Versailles in France, a typical example of the opulence and grandeur of Baroque Architecture Source: Photo © Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images |
As the Dutch navigators opened up new lands beyond the Indies, the 17th century saw countries like Belgium and Netherlands come into their own, thanks to their flourishing business and trade. The new found economic strength of the farmers, weavers and craftsmen fueled the demand for handsome, yet unassuming and simple houses. Hence, a new simplified form of Baroque Architecture evolved.
This style of Baroque Architecture is best explained by the little cobbled streets and rows of narrow, tall houses lining the banks of the rivers and the canals in and around Belgium and the north east coast of France.
This style of Baroque Architecture is best explained by the little cobbled streets and rows of narrow, tall houses lining the banks of the rivers and the canals in and around Belgium and the north east coast of France.
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| Image Credits: Parul Gupta |
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| Amsterdam's Begijnhof court Source: http://www.flickr.com/ |
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| Houses lining the canal in Amsterdam, Source: http://www.busyasabeeinparis.com/ |
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| The famous "neck gables" at Amsterdam's Begijnhof court, Source: http://www.tunliweb.no/ |
The houses were built with large windows to reduce the load on the structure. One of the main reasons for the narrow designs may have been a tax levied on the owners at the time as per street frontage.
Most of these narrow, tall houses are adorned with patterned brickwork and sharply pointed, stepped and even straight sided neck gables.
Another unique feature of these houses are the pulleys above their topmost windows to lift furniture and goods to upper floors since these houses had very narrow staircases and in many cases the lower stories were used for warehousing.
Interestingly, many of these houses are also tilted towards the front, to save the building facade from damage while goods moved up and down. Though in some cases, the tilt is simply due to a damaged foundation.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has been gifting blue and white porcelain miniatures of these canal houses to their business class passengers since 1952.
Most of these narrow, tall houses are adorned with patterned brickwork and sharply pointed, stepped and even straight sided neck gables.
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| The straight decorated neck gable and the pulley to lift furniture and goods to upper floors Source: http://www.traveljournals.net/ |
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| Stepped gables, Source: http://www.eurotravelogue.com/ |
Another unique feature of these houses are the pulleys above their topmost windows to lift furniture and goods to upper floors since these houses had very narrow staircases and in many cases the lower stories were used for warehousing.
Interestingly, many of these houses are also tilted towards the front, to save the building facade from damage while goods moved up and down. Though in some cases, the tilt is simply due to a damaged foundation.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has been gifting blue and white porcelain miniatures of these canal houses to their business class passengers since 1952.
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| KLM Miniature Houses, Source: http://ednakylephotography.blogspot.in/ |
The bottles are filled with the famous Dutch genever, the original ingredient in most cocktails that use gin today. Every year, a new miniature is released on the 7th of October, KLM's founding anniversary date. 93 houses have been released so far!
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| House no. 87, Source: http://www.klmdutchhouses.com/ |
All these houses are replicas of actual buildings in Netherlands. In many cases, the porcelain figures even carry the address of the archetype.
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| The little porcelain houses that have gone on to become collectibles Source: http://www.liveauctioneers.com/ |
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