Of more than 1500 bridges spanning Amsterdam's 165 canals, the Magere - Narrow or Skinny - Bridge is arguably the most famous.
The bridge connects the banks of the Amstel at Kerkstrat (Church Street), a street running between two canals, the Keizersgracht (Emperors' Canal) and the Prinsengracht (Princes' Canal). The central section of the MagereBrug is a bascule or draw bridge made of white-painted wood. The present bridge dates back to 1934. The original bridge was called the Kerkstraatbrug (the Church Street Bridge) and had 13 arches. Because this bridge was very narrow, the locals called it de magerebrug, which literally means 'the skinny bridge'.
The legend tells that the building of the original bridge was commissioned by two wealthy sisters who lived on opposite sides of the Amstel river and wanted to see one another daily, and were presumably too busy or insufficiently healthy to go the long way round via different bridges, of which there must have surely been at least one other. From here on the tale splits. One tells that the sisters, though wealthy, could not afford a bridge of adequate width for general use and thus built a very narrow bridge. In the other version the sisters were called Mager and thus the bridge was called after them.
By 1871 the state of the bridge was so poor that it was demolished and replaced by a nine-arched wooden bridge. Fifty years later this bridge also called for replacement. Architect Piet Kramer made several drafts for a stone and steel bridge, but the city decided to replace it with a replica of the old bridge only slightly wider. The last major renovation took place in 1969. The bridge was drawn by hand until 1994, then mechanized and limited to pedestrians and bicycles only since 2003.
The bridge offers beautiful panoramas up and down the Amstel. Southward on your left hand-side you'll see the Royal Theater Carré, further down on the same side the luxurious Amstel Hotel, and at the horizon the new high rises - the Rembrandt Tower and the Mondrian Tower, which happen to be the tallest buildings in the Netherlands. Looking to the north you will see the Blue Bridge, and the Stopera at the Waterlooplein. In the far distance on the left, weather providing, you should see the spire of the Munt tower.
Sightseeing canal tour boats are low enough to pass underneath the bridge when it's closed, however the bridge is opened a few times a day to let the bigger boats, barges and ships pass. The bridge is decorated with 1200 light bulbs that illuminate it by night. On still summery nights, when the waters of the river are calm and no pedestrians or cyclists clamor the crossing, pausing for a few minutes to admire the city reflected in the water can be quite magical. Although no match to the Brooklyn Bridge in New York or the Tower Bridge in London, the Magere Brug has become something of an Amsterdam icon. It is featured in a number of movies, such as for example the James Bond blockbuster Diamonds Are Forever.