Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: canal

The main ‘street’ (canal) in Dwarsgracht, a hamlet nearby more well known Giethoorn in the Dutch province of Overijssel. The place was founded before 1800 at the time of peat extraction in the area. Dwarsgracht is a real alternative for the famous, but very touristy, town of Giethoorn. Although just 3 km's away it is a completely different world: the same canal(s), small bridges, boats and thatched roof houses, but without the crowds and hustle and bustle of Giethoorn. Dwarsgracht has just one café restaurant ( De Otterskooi ) and this is an ideal starting point for either a boat trip with a so called 'whispering boat' or for a bike tour along the canals and lakes. At De Otterskooi you can rent them both. Or just walk along the main canal through the village and enjoy the views over the water, the houses, the flowers, the birds and further away waving reed.

Bruges (or Brugge in Dutch) is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage site and has one of the best preserved medieval city centres of the world with its bell tower, wide open market square, cobble stoned streets and brick archways and quaint bridges. Canals loop across the town like a string of pearls and did give the city its nickname: “Venice of the North”. For many years Bruges was more or less been known as a "dead city" for many years. The sanding of the harbour and the difficulties to dig canals in the sand caused heavy economical burdens on the city between the Middle Ages and the 20th century. But nowadays Bruges is a lively city and one of the most important tourist attractions in Belgium.

The ‘Göta kanal’ is a canal in Götaland with a length of 190 kilometers. At its highest point the canal is 91.8 meters above sea level and has 58 locks. Nearby the village of Berg the canal has one flight of seven locks and another two double locks, raising and lowering boats more than 29 meters. The seven connected locks (main picture) are the longest flight of locks on the Göta Canal. They raise or lower boats almost 19 meters between Lake Roxen and harbour at Berg. The locks were built between 1815-1818 and officially named ‘Carl Johans slussar’ (after the Swedish King Karl XIV Johan).

Picture: Göta Canal between Borensberg and Vandrarhem Glasbruket after a rainy day. The ‘Göta kanal’ is a canal in Götaland with a length of 190.5 kilometers. It runs between Mem on the Baltic Sea and Sjötorp on the eastern shore of Lake Vänern. Together with the river ‘Gota älv’ and ‘Trollhätte kanal’ it connects Stockholm with Göteborg. . The canal - built between 1810 and 1832 - was an important link in the transportation of wood and iron. The promoter and building contractor was the Swedish admiral Baltzar von Platen. 87 kilometers of the canal was excavated manually by 58.000 soldiers. ‘Göta Kanal’ has a width which varies from 7 to 14 meters and a maximum depth of about 3 meters. At its highest point the canal is 91.8 meters above sea level and has 58 locks (PiP 1, one of the locks) along the way. Nowadays the waterway is only used by pleasure boats (Pip 2) and vintage canal boats like M/S Juno (PiP 3), launched in 1874 and specially designed to sail in the ‘Göta Kanal’. It is the world’s oldest registered ship with overnight accommodation.

Autumn along the 'Apeldoorn - Dierens Kanaal' nearby Oosterhuizen. This is the second part of the 'Apeldoorns Kanaal', a waterway from Hattem in the north to Dieren in the south. After arriving of King Willem I digging of the northern part started in 1825. Plans for the southern part between Apeldoorn and Dieren came into execution and digging began. Ten years later the canal was officially opened. In 1972 the canal was closed for shipping traffic; nowadays you only may see a canoe, rowing boat or pedal boat in the canal. More information about the Apeldoorns Kanaal (Dutch)l: www.apeldoornskanaal.com

Apeldoorn - Dierens Kanaal is the second part of the Apeldoorns Kanaal, a waterway from Hattem in the north to Dieren in the south. After arriving of King Willem I digging of the northern part started in 1825. Plans for the southern part between Apeldoorn and Dieren (river IJssel) came into execution and digging began. Ten years later the canal was officially opened. In 1972 the canal was closed for shipping traffic; nowadays you only may see a canoe, rowing boat or pedal boat in the canal. More information about the Apeldoorns Kanaal (Dutch)l: www.apeldoornskanaal.com

Dwarsgracht, just a hamlet nearby more well known Giethoorn in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It has canals and lots of narrow bridges; transportation is mostly by boat.

Fall along the Helenawaterway.