Canals in Leiden: the Mare

The Mare is divided into the Korte Mare (Short Mare) in the front and the Lange Mare (Long Mare) behind the green drawbridge in the center of the picture. The Lange Mare was filled up.

The name Mare can be translated as "tiding" and it is the name of one of the rivers that flow into the Rhine.

The road crossing the Mare in the front is the Langegracht (Long Canal) on the left and Lammermarkt (Lamb's Market) on the right. The Langegracht was filled up in the 1960s, the Lammermarkt earlier in the 20th century.

The three towers are from left to right are the Marekerk (Mare Church), the Hartebrugkerk (Heart Bridge Church) and City Hall. The Marekerk is special because it is the first purpose-built protestant church in the Netherlands.

Up to the 1960s Leiden was based on transport by water, that meant that every time a ship passed through Leiden, road transport had to wait. In the 1960s the City Council decided to give priority to the road, so they filled up several canals and diverted the ships around Leiden. Luckily they didn't fill up all the canals.