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17-554: The Spiegelgracht ( Dutch: [ˈspi.ɣəlɣrɑxt] , mirror canal ) is a canal in the centre of Amsterdam , located near the Prinsengracht . Built in the 16th century, it is a part of the Canals of Amsterdam which have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites . 52°21′43″N 4°53′14″E  /  52.3619°N 4.88722°E  / 52.3619; 4.88722 This Dutch road or road transport-related article

34-416: A gracht as well. Circular canals or singels were dug and surrounded the city. Fortifications were built along these singels and fixed the shape of the historical inner city of Delft. The characteristic, narrow grachten , perpendicular to the main grachten , developed from ditches that had been dug to drain and delimit the fields which preceded the city. When it was still a Dutch colony, Cape Town had

51-481: A city are called kanaal . However, Venice is an exception. In Dutch, one does not say " de grachten van Venetië " (the city-canals of Venice), but " de kanalen van Venetië " (the canals of Venice). Toponyms for grachten are usually made by the suffixes -gracht , -singel (which refers to the old circle-shaped canals), -wal (referring to the bank of the gracht), -vest (referring to a fortification), and -kade ( Southern Dutch : -kaai ; quay). The suffix -diep

68-523: A network of grachten , that were fed by the springs at the base of Table Mountain . These provided water and sanitation for the infant town. In the ensuing centuries, the grachten were covered over, but many of the prominent streets in the modern city centre still bear their names (notably the Heerengracht, Keizersgracht, Buitengracht and Buitensingel). There is currently a project to restore some of these historic waterways. A function in almost every city

85-458: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Gracht The word gracht cannot be easily translated; for this reason, it is necessary to distinguish between four related terms: Although the word gracht means ' canal ' or ' waterway ' in the general sense, there is no exact equivalent for the term in English. The word gracht stems from the older word graft , which

102-531: Is a legal document ( charter ) establishing a municipality such as a city or town . The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages . Traditionally, the granting of a charter gave a settlement and its inhabitants the right to town privileges under the feudal system . Townspeople who lived in chartered towns were burghers , as opposed to serfs who lived in villages. Towns were often " free ", in

119-416: Is derived from graven , to dig (cf. English " grave "). The Dutch language has had a sound shift in which the combination -ft became -cht. Other examples are lucht (German: Luft , air) and zacht (English: soft). In some regional languages such as Frisian and Gronings , the word graft is still used. In Dutch, the word gracht is used only when canals are located inside the city, while canals outside

136-465: Is used in Groningen where it is a local word for a large canal. When a gracht is a remake of an old river, the river's name is used. Grachten were the life-lines of Dutch and Flemish cities. They were used for many purposes: for transportation, for draining, as water supply and as sewers, all at the same time. In heavily populated cities, these combined functions repeatedly proved to be detrimental to

153-690: The Philippine Assembly which was composed by elected members instead of appointed ones. During the Commonwealth era , the National Assembly established an additional ten cities. Since achieving independence from the United States in 1946 the Philippine Congress has established 149 more cities (as of September 2024 ), the majority of which required the holding of a plebiscite within

170-499: The canals gradually acquired the character of city-canals or grachten . A third canal was dug and also changed into a gracht ; it connected with the moat around the marketplace. The city and the grachten grew hand in hand. In 1246, this agglomeration was granted a city charter by the Count of Holland and became the City of Delft. A natural waterway was later incorporated in the city and became

187-400: The lower level of government, such as a province . In Canada, charters are granted by provincial authorities . Since the beginning of American colonial rule, Philippines cities were formally established through laws enacted by the various national legislatures in the country. The Philippine Commission gave the city of Manila its charter in 1901, while the city of Baguio was established by

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204-440: The older river called Drentse Aa was used as a natural part of the grachten. In Delft , the main gracht – Oude Delft – started as a drainage canal for reclaiming land in marshy surroundings: in a period roughly around the year 1100, a canal was dug, making use of a natural creek in the marshy country. This canal was called Delf , later on Delft , from the word delven that is akin to the verb to "delve" in English. This canal

221-516: The proposed city's jurisdiction to ratify the city's charter. In Sweden until 1951, cities were established by royal charter . In the United Kingdom , cities are established by royal charter . In the United States , such charters are established either directly by a state legislature by means of local legislation , or indirectly under a general municipal corporation law, usually after

238-705: The public health. Most Hanseatic cities have grachten to transport, to load and to land goods in and from ships. In the Netherlands, the northeastern cities of Deventer , Hindeloopen , Kampen , Leeuwarden , Meppel , Sneek , Zutphen and Zwolle are renowned for their historical grachten . Other cities in the Netherlands, in the western part of the country, are also touristic attractions because of their grachten , especially Alkmaar , Amersfoort , Gouda , Hoorn , Leiden , Utrecht and Weesp . Sometimes grachten were made from older rivers, like in Groningen . There

255-459: The sense that they were directly protected by the king or emperor, and were not part of a feudal fief . Today, the process for granting is determined by the type of government of the state in question. In monarchies, charters are still often a royal charter given by the Crown or the authorities acting on behalf of the Crown. In federations, the granting of charters may be within the jurisdiction of

272-425: Was drainage . Rainwater flowed through these city-canals. Usually they were also used as a sewer. Because these functions are not needed any more, many grachten have been filled in to give access to road traffic. However, these new streets have mostly retained the names of the grachts and singels they covered or replaced. City charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter )

289-519: Was used to drain the land at both sides; later on it also served as a waterway for transport. Later, a second canal, called the Nieuwe Delft (New Delft) was dug through part of the settlement that had grown around the first. The original canal became known as the Oude Delft (Old Delft), a name it still bears today. The rural village around Oude and Nieuwe Delft developed into a more urban area and

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