Amsterdam's narrowest house

Image from Peter Vermeulen

It is often claimed that the house located at Singel 7 is the narrowest in the world. While there is some truth in this, it’s actually the house with the world’s narrowest façade – this is the back of the house, the front of the house is much wider.

Narrowest houses

The narrowest house in Europe can be found at number 22 in the Oude Hoogstraat: a tiny house with a typical Amsterdam bell gable. The gable is only 2.02 metres wide. The house itself is five metres deep. Another narrow house is located nearby at Kloveniersburgwal 26. The building has a beautiful cornice gable of 2.44 metres wide. This house is known as the 'Kleine Trippenhuis', or the 'House of the coachman of Mr. Trip'. It is located directly opposite the 'Trippenhuis' at number 29.

The Trippenhuis

The Trippenhuis is the widest house in Amsterdam, measuring over 22 metres. It was built in 1660 for the very wealthy brothers Lodewijk and Hendrick Trip. The brothers had made their fortune trading iron, copper, artillery and ammunition. The story goes that Mr Trip's coachman exclaimed: "Oh, I would be happy with a house as wide as my master's front door". Mr Trip heard this and made sure his coachman got such a house.